


Deal with a demon

by katychan666



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Demon!Alec, First Meetings, M/M, More tags to be added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2020-12-24 03:29:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 109,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21092651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katychan666/pseuds/katychan666
Summary: The Shadow world is under attack and Magnus is desperate to protect his friends, so he summons a Greater Demon despite everyone's worries. To defeat Lilith, he makes a deal with a demon named Alexander and there is where things start to get interesting...





	1. Chapter 1

‘’Magnus, do you think this is going to work?’’ asked Clary, biting on her lip as she looked over to the warlock, who looked as equally concerned and Magnus was biting his nails, chipping away the nail polish and he nodded. Yes, that was their last resort if he was being honest - if this wouldn’t work then… Magnus didn’t even want to think what would happen. The whole world was under a great attack, not only Shadow one. A Greater Demon, Lilith had escaped Edom and things were slowly spiraling out of control. The rift between their world and Edom had been open and more and more demons were coming through and they needed help. The Shadowhunters and the Downworlders were fighting united against them, but it wasn’t working. They were outnumbered, but Magnus hoped that he had finally found a solution that would free the world of evil, but at what price? He knew that his position as the High warlock would be put in danger as what he was going to do wasn’t going to be really moral. They were going to be summoning  _ another _ Greater Demon and if the Clave ever found out about this, he would be put in prison for life  _ or else.  _ Magnus looked at Clary and her boyfriend, Jace, who was holding her hand and Magnus’ breath shuddered.

‘’Biscuit, I think this is our last resort,’’ muttered Magnus and then bit his lip. ‘’If-if this doesn’t work, then we’re really screwed here,’’ he said and rubbed his palms together. Magnus was shaking with fear all over as he really didn’t know what he was getting them into, but… in the end it didn’t really matter what happened to him. He just wanted his friends to be safe and sound and from what he heard about this demon they were about to summon, he was powerful. He was very powerful, a lot more than Lilith, but the only problem was going to be convincing him to fight on their side. Magnus shuddered and then pressed his lips together, looking over to his friends, Ragnor and Catarina, who looked as equally concerned about the whole thing.

‘’Magnus,’’ said Catarina and stepped closer to him. ‘’You know that once we do this, there’s no coming back,’’ she said and then placed her hands together. ‘’If-if the Clave finds out about this, we’re all-’’ she started, but Jace stepped closer and shook his head. Since the Inquisitor was his grandmother, he had some special connections that he was going to use if something happened. He wasn’t going to let his friends be in trouble and he tried not to worry too much about the Clave, there was far greater things that were at state now and-

‘’I won’t let anything happen to you,’’ said Jace and Ragnor looked at him.

‘’Are you sure? Because it wouldn’t be the first time that the Shadowhunters wouldn’t hold up their end of the deal,’’ he said as he still didn’t trust Herondale, but Jace backed down as he really wasn’t in the mood to be fighting and Clary quickly stepped closer to the both of them and tried to break off the possible fighting breaking out.

‘’Guys, now it really isn’t the time to be fighting over these things,’’ muttered Clary and Jace and Ragnor looked away because it was true. 

‘’Biscuit’s right, we must stand united in this,’’ said Magnus and then huffed under his breath and snapped his fingers, summoning his spellbook and then looked around. They were currently in his loft, Magnus had already prepared the pentagram on the floor and all that was missing at the moment was him making the summoning spell and the Greater Demon was going to be present with them. Given his past, Magnus hoped that he was going to work with them even though there were the Shadowhunters present in it all. The things that Magnus heard about him chilled him down to the bones, but… he could be also very persuasive and was prepared to make a deal no matter what. Again, to him it didn’t matter what happened to him, he just wanted to save the world.

‘’Yeah, I’m sorry,’’ said Ragnor quickly. ‘’I’m just on edge here,’’ he said and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘’These past few months had been… horrible and I really don’t know who to trust anymore,’’ he said and Magnus nodded. Yes, they’ve seen a lot of their good friends turning on against them, working with the demons instead and it… hurt, but it also made them all vary. Just like per usual, the Clave was doing nothing about this. They were all looking the other way, pretending that everything was okay, but how could it? The rift was open in New York and the city was constantly under attack. But the Clave turned a blind eye to that. They really were on their own. 

‘’I understand,’’ said Jace and then looked at Magnus. ‘’So, what do we need to do now?’’ asked Jace and Magnus took in a deep breath, looking down at his spellbook and then he turned to the needed page that he needed. 

‘’All we have to do is step around the, um, pentagram and I say the incantation. And we must hold hands or the demon can escape the pentagram,’’ said Magnus and felt his heart beating much faster. ‘’Just… don’t let go of each other’s hand as we still don’t know if he’ll be ready to help us. If he won’t, I’ll send him back to Edom and-and we’ll try something else,’’ said Magnus and then looked at everyone. ‘’Got it?’’ he then asked and the other five nodded. Raphael was there too even though if he wasn’t too keen on it, but still… he was there to help Magnus, who had been like a father to him and he nervously smiled, but kept to himself for most parts.

‘’Yeah, let’s do this,’’ said Raphael, finally speaking up and he walked closer to Catarina and Ragnor, stepping in between them and shuddered as all of the others stepped around the pentagram as well and then looked at each other - they all looked nervous and scared. They tried to pretend to be strong for each other, but their eyes betrayed them as none of them knew what was going to happen, Magnus finally stepping to the pentagram as well and then he snapped his fingers again. The spell wasn’t all that complicated, so the book wasn’t needed anymore and he took in a deep breath. His wards were up just in case that the demon would try to escape, then again… was he powerful enough to hold him in? Magnus highly doubted that, but still… he had to have some hope.

‘’Take each other’s hand,’’ muttered Magnus and all of them around the pentagram listened to them, taking each other’s hand and Magnus took Catarina’s hand on his one side and Clary’s on his other one and then closed his eyes for a split second. ‘’I call upon the power of the pentagram,’’ he said and his voice was betraying him as well - it was shaking badly and he was trying not to crack. Clary gasped as one side of the pentagram lit up,  _ fire _ sparking up and all of them were tempted to step back, but then were reminded of Magnus’ words -  _ must not break the seal around the circle.  _ ‘’I-I summon thee,’’ Magnus finally finished and then opened his eyes, the rest of the pentagram lighting up as well and he hoped for the best.

Flames were getting higher and higher and Magnus was nervously waiting for the demon to appear in the middle and he was holding in his breath as he didn’t allow himself to breathe - not yet. All of the others around it were also trying to hold back their horror as there was a dark and tall figure being able to be seen forming in the middle of the flames. The flames were slowly disappearing and the figure was getting shape, the demon was there  _ in flesh _ and silence fell between them, Magnus nervously waiting for something to happen. He didn’t even know what he was expecting to happen, so he just stood there and watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes. The others didn’t dare to speak as well and were just staying quiet, allowing Magnus to be the one to take the lead and talk with the demon.

The demon was tall, his broad back facing Magnus, who was now trying to string a few sentences together to  _ greet _ the demon, who still seemed a bit confused about where he had been summoned to. He was facing Raphael at the moment, who was avoiding making eye contact with and he looked across the room to Magnus, trying to let him know that he should  _ do _ something and Magnus cleared his throat. ‘’I’ve been summoned, who dares to  _ summon _ me?’’ finally asked the demon as he had enough of waiting and the Shadowhunters present flinched as they could feel the demon’s magic hitting the way they’ve been blocking around the pentagram. Magnus could feel his power too, he was  _ very _ strong, his powers could be comparable to his father and that… was either really good news or very bad ones. It would be soon seen.

‘’I did,’’ finally said Magnus as he was reminded that he was indeed the one who summoned the demon and he slowly turned around, Magnus gripping onto Catarina’s and Clary’s hand, but they were gripping back onto his, their knuckles going white to the bone and Magnus flinched. The demon was soon facing him, Magnus feeling his heart leaping up to his throat and he cleared his throat, blinking a few times and he looked up and down. The demon was quite tall, as it was mentioned before, wearing black clothes, his black hair messily falling over his eyes… his pitch-black eyes that made Magnus shaken down to his core. The eyes looked  _ empty.  _ Black as the black hole and ready to suck anyone and eat them up. It was very unsettling, but-

‘’ _ You _ ,’’ said the demon, his voice penetrating right to Magnus’ core and the warlock shuddered a little bit as the demon came really close to him. ‘’Magnus Bane,’’ he finally said and took in a deep breath. ‘’Your reputation precedes you, warlock,’’ said he said and Magnus cleared his throat.

‘’And-and your reputation precedes you, Alexander Lightwood,’’ finally managed to say Magnus and the demon chuckled, his deep chuckle making shivers run up Magnus’ spine and he wasn’t so sure that he hated  _ that _ feeling.

‘’And my reputation precedes your reputation, Mister Bane,’’ said Alec in the end, crossed his arms on top of his chest and looked up and down Magnus. ‘’I did hear a lot about you and your father, must say… I’m not disappointed at all,’’ said Alec, his eyes still scanning the warlock, who nervously managed to smile. It was good that the demon appeared to have heard about him and was seemingly on his side. ‘’So, you’re the one who summoned me?’’ asked Alec again and Magnus nodded.

‘’Yes,’’ said Magnus determinately.

‘’Your reason?’’ asked Alec and a little devious smile spread across his face. ‘’Usual mortals just not do it for you anymore and wanted something a bit more… dangerous?’’ asked Alec shamelessly and Magnus quickly shook his head. ‘’I can’t blame you… mortals are just so…  _ boring _ and weak.’’

‘’I… we need your help,’’ quickly said Magnus and Alec arched an eyebrow. ‘’Lilith has broken free from Edom and thus opened the rift which we cannot close on our own,’’ said Magnus. ‘’The power that would need for it to be closed is something that we don’t possess,’’ he carried on and Alec didn’t seem to be interested anymore. ‘’More and more creatures from Edom are coming here and… destroying our world,’’ stammered Magnus and Alec scoffed. Helping their world? The one had cast him aside and locked him in Edom for centuries? No. He would much rather watch them all burn with pleasure.

‘’Not interested,’’ said Alec.

‘’But-’’

‘’The Bitch finally left Edom, I can finally have some peace of mind,’’ said Alec and Magnus started panicking. ‘’And as for your world being destroyed? I don’t really care,’’ said the demon simply and looked around the circle. ‘’It would be a pleasure seeing your kind burn in demise. You’ve casted me aside, locked me in  _ Edom _ … like I was some kind of a monster,’’ said Alec as he glanced upon Jace and Clary, who were holding hands. Despite him being a demon, Magnus could sense real  _ sadness _ and hatred behind his words. Demons weren’t supposed to feel sadness or any kind of human emotions, but it seemed to be different in this case and Magnus bit his lip. ‘’It’s not in my interests to help you, so-’’

‘’If it’s freedom you desire, we offer you freedom,’’ said Magnus quickly and Alec turned to him, Jace quickly shaking his head.

‘’No, Magnus, this is a demon, we can’t-’’

‘’Quiet, let the warlock speak,’’ said Alec and with a snap of his fingers made Jace’s mouth shut and Clary let out a shriek. ‘’Do you want to be next, little girl?’’ asked Alec and she quickly shook his head, a victorious grin spreading across his face and then he turned to Magnus, whose head was now spinning. He knew better than making a deal with a Greater Demon, but desperate times called for desperate measures. ‘’Speak,’’ he ordered to Magnus, who nodded.

‘’Help us defeat Lilith and you’ll be free to walk this world,’’ said Magnus and even Ragnor and Catarina seemed shocked and they started shaking their heads. ‘’And-and you won’t be bothered, not by the Shadowhunters, not by any of us. A clean slate, a new a fresh start,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Sounds fair, doesn’t it?’’

‘’Magnus, no,’’ mouthed Ragnor and Catarina was shaking her head as well.

‘’Ragnor is right, Magnus, he’s another Greater Demon, how will any of this help?’’ asked Catarina. ‘’I mean we can’t just let him roam the world freely. You said it yourself that he’s stronger than Lilith, he can’t be trusted. I-’’

Alec groaned and then snapped his fingers, making all of the people in the room disappear. All, but Magnus and Magnus’ face went pale…  _ what the fuck did he do with them? _ And how was he able to perform the magic around the pentagram?! His shock had deepened as Alec freely stepped outside of the pentagram and then started looking around the warlock’s place. ‘’You… what did you do with my friends?’’ stammered Magnus and Alec scoffed.

‘’Isn’t it obvious? I sent them away.’’

Magnus’ heart fell. ‘’Send them to where? I swear, if you killed them, I-’’

‘’Oh,  _ please _ ,’’ said Alec and rolled his eyes. ‘’Killing with a snap of fingers is no fun,’’ said the demon and then threw himself on the couch. ‘’My ways are a lot more slow and  _ bloodier _ ,’’ said Alec and Magnus shuddered. ‘’They’ve been sent to a secure location, none of them I harmed.’’

Magnus didn’t believe him. ‘’And why should I trust you?’’ he asked.

‘’I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one who summoned me,’’ mumbled the demon and then rolled his eyes. ‘’Ugh, they’re fine,’’ said Alec and leaned up. 

‘’How did you… manage to get past the wardings and the-’’ started Magnus, but Alec started laughing.

‘’Oh, that is child play,’’ said Alec and grinned. ‘’Seriously, did you think that your little barrier will stop me? Please, have you forgotten who you’re talking to?’’ asked Alec and then shook his head, his dark eyes lighting up with mischief and Magnus stepped back a little bit. ‘’So,’’ he started again and Magnus was careful of his every move. ‘’The deal - you promised me  _ freedom _ ?’’ asked Alec and Magnus nodded, huffing and Alec hummed. ‘’Edom has gotten kind of boring, but,’’ said Alec and Magnus held in his breath. ‘’The deal would have to be not only for me.’’

‘’Huh?’’

‘’If I agree to help, my sister must be promised freedom as well,’’ said Alec and Magnus shook his head. ‘’She’ll help as well - she’s quite handy with her whip,’’ said Alec and was now heading over to Magnus, who was for some reason captivated by the demon once he was able to see him up close. ‘’Imagine,’’ whispered Alec and Magnus shuddered as he could feel his hot breath against his cheek, throat going dry and he- ‘’You’ll save the world, you’ll get all of the glory,’’ said Alec, tempting Magnus. ‘’There will be stories about you,’’ said Alec and Magnus bit his lip as he was watching his face. He might had been a demon, but he was  _ beautiful _ . So beautiful that it hurt. ‘’All you have to do is say  _ yes. _ ’’

‘’I can’t,’’ whispered Magnus back. 

‘’Sure you can,’’ said Alec and winked. ‘’Don’t you want all of the glory for yourself?’’ asked Alec and Magnus shook his head. ‘’Don’t dare to lie to me, warlock, I know the thirst for fame and power when I see one,’’ said Alec and chuckled, his deep chuckle again making Magnus’ knees feel weak - was it because he was a demon? That Magnus couldn’t keep his mind working? Alec was now circling around him, walking around him like a cat and Magnus was in trance. ‘’You’ll be the Greatest warlock of all time,’’ muttered Alec now that he was standing behind Magnus and breathed softly against Magnus’ neck. ‘’You crave for it, don’t be shy, warlock.’’

‘’I don’t-’’

‘’You do.’’

‘’I  _ really _ don’t-’’

‘’Oh come on,’’ suddenly whined Alec and Magnus turned around. ‘’Ugh, usually my charms work, what is happening?!’’ asked Alec and looked down at his hands, Magnus narrowing his eyes. ‘’ _ You _ broke my smolder!’’ said Alec and Magnus was now confused. Very confused - what the hell was going on? Alec was no longer this scary demon and all of a sudden he looked like a whiny kid and Magnus was… he didn’t know what to think at this point. ‘’I mean this is…  _ ouch that fucking hurts, son of a bitch, _ ’’ snapped Alec as his shin hit the coffee table and Magnus’ jaw was on the floor. All of that from before - the image that Alec had built for himself was quickly peeling away. So was it all just an act; when in reality he was just a big and clumsy demon?! Magnus was  _ so _ confused. Though Alec had his revenge and with pleasure in his eyes he set the coffee table on fire. 

Maybe Magnus messed up the spell - maybe not the right demon was summoned. 

‘’You can’t be Alexander, the Greater Demon who-’’

‘’Oh, who the fuck do you think I am then?! Mary Poppins?!’’ snapped Alec and Magnus stopped talking. ‘’Ah, I’m so sorry that I don’t meet up with your snobby expectations. You really are your father’s son. Ugh, I really can’t stand him,’’ said Alec as he was bitching away. ‘’There I was, finally enjoying Edom now that so many have left, but then you come along and summon me  _ here _ . Do you think I want to be here? No, thank you,’’ continued Alec and Magnus blinked a few times. 

‘’Um, I-’’

  
  


‘’So annoying,’’ said Alec and marched back to the couch, sitting down and Magnus blinked a few times before approaching him. Suddenly, he wasn’t scared anymore and he was just… really sure that someone was playing a prank on him.

‘’So, about the deal-’’

‘’Yeah, yeah, I’ll help you. Quit bitching,’’ said Alec and Magnus pressed his lips together. ‘’So, this dump is your place?’’ asked Alec and Magnus nodded. ‘’Eh, I’ve seen better,’’ carried on the demon and Magnus was tempted to laugh. But he didn’t. ‘’I’ll be staying here,’’ he announced and Magnus’ jaw dropped.

‘’You can’t, you-’’

‘’Um, yes I can,’’ said Alec. ‘’I’m the Demon, remember? And I for sure won’t be staying out there in the city,’’ he said and wrinkled his nose. ‘’Besides, this will give me the perfect chance to torture you,’’ said Alec and his demon eyes were back.

‘’ _ Torture  _ me?!

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec. ‘’Your father had been torturing me for centuries, so it’s my turn to revenge myself,’’ said Alec and Magnus flinched. ‘’ _ Suffer, _ ’’ said Alec and Magnus watched how Alec leaned over to the other desk and slowly pushed the vase off of it, crashing it and he then crossed his arms on top of his chest. He looked very pleased with himself and Magnus turned around and shook…  _ what the hell did he just got himself into?!  _


	2. Chapter 2

‘’No, no, no, what happened?’’ asked Magnus as Clary portalled herself and Jace right into Magnus’ apartment. Magnus had his wards down at the moment and he ran into the living room when he heard a popping sound. Clary’s abilities allowed her to create new runes that were unknown to the rest of the Shadowhunters, but even they weren’t strong enough to defeat Lilith and Magnus shuddered, because the scene in front of his eyes wasn’t pretty. Clary was holding Jace up, barely, wrapping her arms around his waist as she tried to keep him from falling over, but he was too heavy and she had been tired, completely exhausted because it looked like she had just returned from a battle field and Magnus wasn’t wrong. 

‘’Lilith,’’ muttered Clary under her breath, tears shining in her eyes as she was barely supporting her boyfriend, helping him over to Magnus’ couch and she laid him down, trying to make him comfortable as possible, but it was impossible. Jace was bleeding heavily, pressing against his wound on his stomach, but it wasn’t really helping it stop. ‘’She… they came out of nowhere,’’ said Clary, her hair messy and drenched in blood that wasn’t hers. It was demon blood and she sniffled, tears dripping down her cheeks as she was unable to stop herself from crying. She was strong before, managed to keep it together until she came to Magnus’, but now… she was falling apart, dropping on her knees next to Jace and she tried to smile through her tears as Jace’s eyes found hers. He was slipping in and out of consciousness and she looked at Magnus desperately. ‘’Help him,’’ she begged and Magnus wasn’t waiting.

‘’The runes didn’t help?’’

‘’No,’’ whispered Clary and shook her head, gently combing her fingers through Jace’s golden hair and she looked up. ‘’I… I tried, but they didn’t work, I couldn’t stop the bleeding,’’ she said and Magnus nodded, trying to see the damage. Just for a split few seconds, he removed Jace’s hands from his stomach and lifted up his shirt to see the damage and he soon was able to see why the runes couldn’t be much of a help - it was demon venom, penetrating Jace’s veins and it looked like it had spreading all the way up to his heart, which wasn’t good. Magnus needed to act fast, but even if he did… he didn’t know if he would be able to prevent the venom from spreading. 

‘’I’ll patch him up, Biscuit, I promise,’’ said Magnus and Clary nodded, moving to the side, but her hands never stopped gripping Jace’s who was now looking at her, tears rolling from the sides of his eyes and she shook her head. ‘’Come on, Jace, don’t give up on us quite yet, hang in there… we need you,’’ muttered Magnus and tried not to get too emotional himself. He needed to be strong if he wanted to heal him, but it was hard considering that it was one of  _ theirs _ that got injured and he snapped his fingers, blue sparks of magic flying under his hands as he hovered them on top of Jace’s stomach and then shuddered because he could feel the venom and he swallowed thickly. This was going to take quite a toll on him, gritting his teeth and then he nodded. ‘’I’ve got this,’’ muttered Magnus and Clary nodded, gently cupping Jace’s feverish face.

‘’He’s hot,’’ she said and Magnus nodded. Of course, there was demon venom in him, his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead and Clary was quietly sobbing as Magnus was trying to save their friend. Jace arched his back as Magnus’ magic was growing stronger, breathing fast and uneven as he tried not to pass out, but it was hard. Magnus had never dealt with such a strong venom before and he shuddered, because he was going to be needing help, but there was no one else in the apartment but them… them  _ and _ the demon, who was… Magnus didn’t even know where Alec was. He would occasionally leave the apartment, so maybe he wasn’t even there, swallowing thickly as he tried to focus on the task in front of him. Jace let out a gurgling sound and Clary’s sobs had gotten louder when he started coughing up blood. ‘’No, please, please  _ no, Jace, _ ’’ was she quietly sobbing and holding his hand. ‘’ _ Please,  _ Magnus, hurry.’’

‘’I’m trying,’’ huffed Magnus, his own eyes wet and he was desperate. They had already lost so many, but they weren’t losing Jace. He was  _ not _ going to let that happen and despite his exhaustion, he kept trying and trying. He managed to stop the venom from spreading even further, but he was afraid that it was already too late. Jace’s body temperature was way too high and… He grumbled and then looked at Clary, who was still kneeling over her boyfriend and Magnus gritted his teeth. ‘’Biscuit, we need to cool him down,’’ said Magnus and Clary nodded.

‘’Yes… yes… what should I-’’

‘’My office, there’s a potion,’’ he started, but never finished as there was another popping sound being heard in the living room and they both turned to their left. Alexander Lightwood, the Greater Demon was back and Magnus perked up and looked at Clary, whose face quickly changed and she flinched - what was the demon doing there? Magnus had kind of failed to mention that Alec was kind of living with him now. It was… strange, but he didn’t question him too much. He promised to help them, so…

‘’ _ You _ .’’

‘’Little girl,’’ said Alec and grumbled when he saw Clary. There were tears in her eyes and she didn’t look so good, Alec looking down and he hummed when he saw the other Shadowhunter passed out on the couch and he slowly came closer, Magnus still trying to keep it together. ‘’Oh, he doesn’t look too good,’’ said Alec and Clary clenched her jaw. ‘’Yeah, he’s hanging in there by a thread,’’ he carried on, not making the situation any better. Not that he wanted to make it better anyway. ‘’There’s no point, it’s already too late,’’ he announced carelessly and then yawned.

‘’Shut the hell up,’’ hissed Clary back and wouldn’t let Jace go. ‘’It’s not too late, we’ll bring him back,’’ she practically spat into Alec’s face as she really wasn’t in the mood. Be it a demon or not, the man that she loved was dying and she wasn’t going to let a demon make fun of such a serious matter. ‘’Magnus, how is he doing?’’ asked Clary and Magnus swallowed back his tears and looked at Alec.

‘’I’m afraid the demon’s the right, I can’t do-’’

‘’ _ No _ ,’’ she sobbed and shook her head. ‘’No, try  _ harder _ ,’’ she demanded and then looked at Jace, whose eyes were now closed, his breaths were shallow and uneven and his face was pale. His face was really pale and she started shaking her head. ‘’Please don’t leave me, Jace,’’ she sobbed and shook her head, Magnus feeling completely hopeless and he then looked at Alec, who was now looking pretty bored and unamused. It pissed Magnus off, it truly did, but… there was  _ something _ different about Alec. Demons were usually dark and cruel and Alec was… not. He was annoying, but he didn’t seem like the heartless type and he pressed his lips together.

‘’You promised to help us,’’ muttered Magnus. ‘’Help my friend, he’s-’’

‘’Dying?’’ asked Alec, uninterested and hovered on top of Jace, placing his hand against his neck and hummed. ‘’Yeah, tragic. His heartbeat is getting weaker, it’s only a matter of minutes before-’’

‘’Help him!’’ yelled Magnus and Alec shook his head. "We've made a deal," said Magnus as his breath was shaking and his vision was getting unsteady. The only thing that was still keeping Jace alive was his magic and when that would fizzle out, so would Jace's life and he pressed his lips together, hands shaking and he started to panic - his magic was slowly giving out. The spell was getting weaker and it wasn't going to take much longer before Jace would be… Magnus couldn't even say that word in his mind and he looked at Clary, who was silently crying on the floor, face buried into the side of the couch and her red hair was covering Jace.

"The deal was to help you defeat Lilith," said Alec calmly and looked completely unphased. "That was it, I'm not saving someone as insignificant as him," said Alec. "And I'd rather die than to help a  _ Shadowhunter _ ," said Alec and Clary stopped sobbing, looking up. Her make up was completely smeared, she was a mess. Her angry gaze was piercing Alec, who still didn't seem too concerned about Jace's life. 

"For-forget him, Magnus," said Clary and gritted her teeth. "He's a  _ demon _ , he doesn't understand love and compassion," she spat and kept glaring at Alec, whose facial expression darkened as soon as Clary said that. "He doesn't have a heart, it's just an empty and endless dark void inside of him," she said in between her sobs, hiccuping and she looked again at her boyfriend and linked their fingers together. 

Alec kept looking at her and Magnus found himself staring at Alec. Despite what Clary said about Alec, not knowing what love was and how it felt like to love someone, Magnus could very easily recognise  _ that _ look. The look the demon was currently wearing on his face, it was a moment of weakness for Alec as well it seemed as Clary's words had gotten to him.  _ That  _ look - the look of betrayal was very well known to Magnus. It was a look of a broken person, a person who knew exactly what love was. A person who loved once, but had that love completely destroyed. A person that was once pure and happy, but then something happened that changed them forever. A feeling that Magnus wasn't a stranger to and it looked like neither was Alec, who was just staring and standing there and was unable to say anything. It seemed that Alec was caught up in his own mind and Magnus huffed.

The demon almost looked vulnerable, thought Magnus but then quickly pulled back out of it. He shouldn't feel sympathy for a  _ demon _ , then again a part of him was demon blooded and he bit his lip. Luckily, he knew what to say to get Alec to help them out and he hoped that it would work him. "Help him and… I promise freedom not only to you, but to your sister," said Magnus and Alec finally snapped out of his mental prison and looked at Magnus. His gaze was still a bit unsteady and he seemed surprised, looking around and Magnus felt himself getting desperate again. "I  _ promise.  _ Help the Shadowhunter and your sister walks free," promised Magnus. And he meant what he said. He wasn’t going to lie when he was making a deal with a demon, he still didn’t know Alexander really well enough to know what he could and could not expect from him.

Alec didn’t say anything for a few seconds as his eyes remained on the couple and Magnus could have sworn that he saw a glint of sadness behind his eyes as he continued to watch those two. Then just like that, he lifted his hand up and snapped with his fingers and then in silence turned around. It was then that Jace suddenly took in a deep breath, his back arching and his eyes snapped open, coughing and Clary let out a loud sigh, covering her mouth and then she helped Jace up into a sitting position. 

The blonde looked very confused, Clary still silently crying as she then wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and pulled him in for a hug, Jace hugging Clary back and then kissed her, Magnus blinking a few times and then he finally let his magic go - just in time too, because he wouldn’t be able to keep up the spell for much longer, swallowing deeply and his eyes wandered over to Alec, who had now headed to the hallway as he wasn’t in the mood to be spending time in the same room as the Shadowhunters, Magnus following him. Magnus didn’t know why he followed him, but he did and he found Alec standing, his back facing Magnus and he swallowed thickly.

‘’Thank you,’’ muttered Magnus softly and Alec visibly tensed up even though he was turned away.

‘’I didn’t do it for you or the girl,’’ said Alec, slowly turning around his demon eyes were exposed, his glamour down and Magnus flinched. He still wasn’t used to his demon eyes, he was more fond of the glamour if he was being honest. ‘’I did it for my sister,’’ said Alec flatly and Magnus sighed softly, but then nodded.

‘’Your sister,’’ said Magnus and then eased closer to Alec, who now narrowed his eyes. ‘’You really care for her, do you?’’ asked Magnus and Alec pressed his lips together. 

‘’She’s the only one left that I’ve got.’’

‘’You  _ do _ know love, it’s no wonder that Clary’s-’’ started Magnus, but Alec lifted his hand up and Magnus stopped talking.

‘’Doesn’t matter,’’ said Alec and then his face darkened. ‘’And for the record - love  _ is  _ a weakness,’’ said Alec, snapped his fingers and just like that he was gone. 

* * *

Alec was cleaning his ear with his pinkie instead of listening to Magnus, who was now trying to work out a plan with him how were they going to defeat Lilith, but the demon wasn’t listening at all. After Alec saved Jace’s life, Magnus decided to go a bit easy on the demon, but he still kept his eye on him and it was funny how different Alec could be. Alec was a  _ demon, _ yes, but his dark side was usually only out when others were present around them as well. But when it was just him and Magnus, Alec was whiny and nothing what you’d expect from a demon. It made Magnus wonder; was in one more tactic that he was using to  _ torture  _ him?! Though, the torture Alec had in mind was completely different than what Magnus imagined from a demon. 

‘’Alexander, I beg you,  _ focus _ ,’’ said Magnus when he noticed that Alec wasn’t listening at all and Alec looked at him. ‘’As I was saying, the plan to defeat-’’

‘’Bored,’’ said Alec.

‘’Huh?’’

‘’I’m bored,’’ announced Alec and Magnus was tempted to smack the demon. ‘’There’s nothing to do,’’ he carried on. ‘’All of this talk about Lilith is making me annoyed, let’s do something else,’’ proposed Alec and then perked up, moving closer to the warlock and then placed his hand on top of Magnus’ thigh. ‘’I do know of a thing or two how we could fill the free time,’’ said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. 

‘’Alec-’’

‘’I can make all of your deepest desires come true,’’ said Alec and licked his lips, Magnus’ eyes travelling up and down his face, stopping on Alec’s full lips and Magnus sighed. Alec really was unbelievable. He wasn’t going to lie and say that he wasn’t attracted to Alexander, but what about it? He was there to help them with Lilith - this was strictly business. ‘’You know, we demons are-’’

‘’Pass.’’

‘’I hate you,’’ whined Alec and Magnus couldn’t fight off the smile that was coming upon his face and he then bit his lip. For a demon, Alec could be very… well, he didn’t want to call a demon adorable, but- ‘’Ugh, I’ll go there, smythe the bitch and then it’ll be over,’’ said Alec and Magnus arched an eyebrow.

‘’It’s not gonna be so easy, Alexander, she has people on her side, their numbers are growing.’’

‘’So?’’ asked Alec. ‘’And your side has me - Alec Lightwood,’’ said Alec proudly and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. The look on Magnus’ face was unamused and Alec was sliding down the couch - what else was he supposed to do?! ‘’But fine, we’ll go with your boring plan,’’ said Alec and grumbled. ‘’Does it have to involve the Shadowhunters though?’’ asked Alec and Magnus snorted.

‘’Look, I’m not too keen on them either,’’ said Magnus. ‘’But Biscuit and Jace are different.’’

‘’Oh, yes, I’m sure,’’ deadpanned Alec and rolled his eyes. ‘’They’re different until they stab you in the back and leave you all on your own. And then you have to pick yourself up from the ground and start all over, while they get to be happy even though they’ve been nothing but back-stabbing bitches and-’’ started bitching Alec again, but then bit his tongue and looked over at Magnus.

‘’Aren’t you projecting a bit too much?’’

‘’So? I’m a demon, I can do whatever I want,’’ said Alec and started sulking. Yep, he was sulking and Magnus started rubbing his temples. He was tempted to ask Alec what did the Shadowhunters do to him, but something told him that the baggage that came along with that was far too heavy for him to handle at the moment, so in the end he let it go. For now. 

‘’I need a drink,’’ said Magnus because he couldn’t deal with Alec without his whiskey and Alec perked up.

‘’Now we’re talking, bring some for me too,’’ said Alec and Magnus started cursing under his breath, but as he turned to Alec, he nodded and smiled. Alec then made himself comfortable on the couch and laid down. Alec closed his eyes, humming and was content, until he felt something sitting on his chest. That something seemed furry and it was  _ purring.  _ Alec cracked his eyes open and he let out a loud shriek, making Magnus run back into the living room from the kitchen and he had his magic ready - what the hell happened that got the Greater Demon screaming so much?!

‘’Alexander?!’’

‘’I… what the fuck is this thing sitting on me?!’’ asked Alec, yelling on top of his lungs and he looked down. Of course he knew it was a cat, but he wanted to know whose cat it was. And why did it sit on him?! He was a freaking demon, animals ran away from him! Again, Magnus didn’t know if he should be laughing or not, but this time he couldn’t hold it in and he burst into loud laughter.

‘’I do believe that is a cat,’’ said Magnus once he stopped laughing.

‘’The fuck is it doing on me?!’’ shrieked Alec and tried to get rid of the cat. As he was about to snap his fingers, the cat looked at his hand and then nuzzled against it, his purrs getting louder and Alec looked completely out of it. ‘’Magnus, what is it doing?!’’

‘’Aww, Chairman likes you,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I do believe this is called affection,’’ he carried on and Alec looked completely and utterly disgusted. 

‘’Get him away. Shoo, flea bag, get off of me,’’ said Alec, but the cat didn’t move. Magnus was in awe - his cat liked Alexander for some reason and he bit his lip. Chairman Meow usually didn’t like people so this was  _ big.  _ And the fact that he was purring and asking for cuddles was also something Magnus had never really seen his cat do with anyone else but  _ him. _ Alec looked so lost - he really wasn’t used to be shown affection was he?! Pissed off, Alec snapped his fingers and glamoured his head into a head of a dog for a split moment and then barked at the cat, who finally got the message and ran away. ‘’That’s it, run. Come here again and I’ll torture you once more,’’ he grumbled and started picking up the fur from his clothes. ‘’Look at what he did to me, Magnus!’’

‘’Oh, yes, he’s very mean,’’ joked Magnus and Alec rolled his eyes.

‘’I got my revenge,’’ said Alec and his eyes lit up, the blackness in them again spreading and Magnus shuddered. Yep, that was the bit that reminded him that Alexander was indeed a demon and he looked away. ‘’Did you bring the booze?’’ whined Alec because Magnus came empty handed and Magnus rolled his eyes.

‘’I was kind of in a hurry - I thought someone attacked you, you screamed like a-’’

‘’Shut it,’’ said Alec and walked into the kitchen past Magnus, who followed him in silence. The demon was… embarrassed? It couldn’t be, could it? All of this was so confusing to Magnus, because the two of sides of Alexander were so different… it made him wonder, which one was the real Alec? The one who almost let Jace to die or the one who was now whining about the cocktails being too weak? Either way… Magnus had himself cut out a lot of work, because dealing with both sides of Alexander was exhausting. 


	3. Chapter 3

“When will you free my sister?” asked Alec, because he had enough of waiting. It’s been more than a week since he had saved that Shadowhunter’s life, yet Magnus wasn’t keeping his end of the deal. They’ve made a deal - he was going to save Jace’s life if his sister walked free, yet a week passed by and his sister was still nowhere to be seen. And Magnus suddenly seemed to be trying to avoid him, so the demon had it enough and he finally asked, because he didn’t like being lied to. He would expect something like that from the Shadowhunters, but not from Magnus. Then again, his father was Asmodeus, who lied to him before to him and he grumbled under his breath. As the question was asked, Magnus visibly flinched and he looked away.

The two of them were back at Magnus’ loft, home alone and were trying to work out a plan. They were getting closer to finding Lilith again - Magnus didn’t know what kind of a glamour she was using, but not even Alexander was able to track her. But, they all believed that they were getting closer to it. Then just like that, out of nowhere Alec asked that and Magnus completely shut down, looking down and he didn’t reply. Alec didn’t like the silence that followed instead of a verbal reply and he tensed up. He wasn’t going to let it happen again -  _ he wasn’t going to be lied to again _ and he pressed his lips together, Magnus flinching when he looked up and saw black orbs staring back at him, penetrating him right to his heart and he felt terrible. He didn’t mean to lie, but-

“Magnus,” said Alec and Magnus suddenly stood up and tried to leave the room, but before he was able to leave the living room, Alec snapped his fingers and all of the door shut with a loud slam, locked and Magnus felt panic settle into his veins because he was terrified. For the first time he was actually terrified of Alexander, who was now going closer to him and he swallowed thickly, trying to create a portal, but somehow his powers weren’t working. He couldn’t summon a portal, no matter how hard he tried and he shuddered when he looked at Alec. “Yeah, it’s not going to work. No portals leading you out of here either,” said Alec and clenched his jaw, Magnus pressing his lips together and he gulped. Alec had him pinned against the door and he-

“B-before you do anything-”

“You lied to me,” said Alec and then laughed bitterly, shaking his head and he looked down. “Of course you  _ lied _ to me, you befriended the Shadowhunters, what did I even expect of you?” he asked and shook his head, bringing his hand up and Magnus was holding his breath in as he didn’t know what Alec was going to do. Somehow, he managed to block his powers and even if Magnus wanted to run, he couldn’t. There was no magic holding him captive in place, but it was fear that had a firm grasp around his legs and he couldn’t move. “So, you summon me here, promising me  _ freedom _ , but it was all just a lie?” asked Alec and then clicked with his tongue. 

“It wasn’t,” promised Magnus and looked down. It really wasn’t a lie, because he had intentions of summoning Alexander’s sister, but he  _ couldn’t.  _ He wanted to, he didn’t mean to lie. It wasn’t a lie when he promised to freeing Alexander’s sister, but there’s no way that Alec would believe him and he closed his eyes. “I swear, I didn’t lie to you,” he tried again and when he opened his eyes, Alec was really close to him and he didn’t allow himself to breathe. 

“Another lie,” snapped Alec and with his yell out came his magic as well, ramming Magnus hard against the door and he winced in pain. “I can’t believe I was so foolish to actually  _ believe _ you,” said Alec and shook his head. “Edom wasn’t perfect, but at least I was spared to have freedom of people like  _ you _ ,” spat Alec and Magnus groaned - if he would only let him explain what happened to his plans of summoning his sister then they could have moved on without all of the…

“I didn’t lie.”

“Yeah?” asked Alec and then laughed dryly. “Then do it - summon my sister right now,” said Alec and his magic lifted Magnus off the ground, but didn’t hurt him. If Alec wanted to kill him, he’d snap his neck already, so that told Magnus that Alec wasn’t going to hurt him. He was just mad and Magnus dropped his head down.

“I  _ can’t _ ,” finally confessed Magnus and Alec gritted his teeth.

“What do you mean you  _ can’t? _ ” hissed Alec. “You’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn,” said Alec and Magnus winced, because Alec’s magic started burning him. Maybe he was wrong, maybe Alec was going to kill him. A slow and painful death, it seemed and Magnus gulped. “You are one of the most powerful warlocks there is and you’re telling me you can’t summon a  _ demon _ ?!” asked Alec as he couldn’t believe what he was wearing. At least Magnus could come up with a different excuse, because this was pathetic. 

“I can’t do it alone,” stammered Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes, but the demonic magic didn’t let him free quite yet. “I tried to summon her, Alexander, but it didn’t work,” said Magnus, his breathing uneven as the magic was burning into his skin and he gritted his teeth. “I’m still weak… from when I was healing Jace, it took a toll on me, my magic still isn’t completely recovered and even-even if I was fully back, I...” he stammered and threw his head forward. “I wouldn’t be able to do it alone - it took six of us to summon you and… I asked my friends to help me, but they each refused,” said Magnus and Alec clenched his jaw and finally let Magnus down. He believed him, thank the angels.

“ _ What? _ ” snapped Alec and Magnus was breathing heavily - he was okay. “So… after  _ I _ saved the Shadowhunter… after saving his life, they can’t care enough to come and-and,” said Alec and he was speaking fast and uneven. He was visibly shaken up by the whole thing, because he was really looking forward to seeing his sister, but now… “Not even Jace and the girl agreed to help?” asked Alec and the silence told Alec everything.

Truth be told, Magnus was really disappointed. He understood Ragnor, Catarina and Raphael - they were all just… scared. If they would have to pick a death between being captured by the Clave or being killed by a demon, they would all pick the second option and the risks were high. When the Clave was going to find out -  _ and they were going to find out eventually _ \- all of them were screwed, so Magnus understood them, but he was hurt that not even Jace and Clary agreed to help him. After Alec saved Jace’s life, he thought that they would see that Alec wasn’t a monster, but it seemed that Magnus was the only one who didn’t see a monster in Alec, but a broken and betrayed man. 

“ _ Make _ them help you,” said Alec and Magnus shook his head.

“It’s not right, I can’t-”

“I’ll tell you what’s not right,” said Alec and Magnus stopped talking. “ _ Them _ completely forgetting about what I did for them,” said Alec and Magnus pressed his lips together. “That is not right, is it?” asked Alec and Magnus shook his head. “So why should you play by the rules then? You have magic, you can make them do whatever you want,” urged him Alec and Magnus only shook his head again and bit his lip.

“Then that would make me the same as my father,” said Magnus silently and Alec stopped talking. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I ever did something like that to the people I love,” he said and then finally faced Alec, who looked pissed off.

“You can’t, but I will,” said Alec and turned around, snapping his fingers and there was dark, black magic flying under his fingers and Magnus shuddered. Where was he going?! “I can easily end him with a simple snap of my finger,” said Alec. “But first I can make both of them suffer,” he said, but Magnus quickly interfered before the demon could actually do something. 

“Alexander,  _ don’t _ ,” said Magnus and Alec gritted his teeth.

“Why not? They deserve it.”

“No, they don’t,” said Magnus and shook his head. “And that way you’ll only prove them right - that you’re a monster,” said Magnus, but Alec scoffed - everyone already thought that he was a monster, so he better measured to his reputation. “But I know that you aren’t,” said Magnus and Alec rolled his eyes. “You  _ aren’t _ , Alexander, I know,” said Magnus and Alec’s stern gaze was now facing the wall in front of him. “Would a monster care that deeply about his family?” asked Magnus and Alec flinched, but his magic fizzled out and now he was only staring in front of him, but didn’t say anything. It seemed like he was battling some inner war and Magnus finally dared to step closer.

“Doesn’t really matter what others think about me,” he finally said and turned around from Magnus, walking over to the balcony and then just stared outside, but didn’t step on it. It looked like he was deep in his thoughts and Magnus could feel his pain. Alec’s jaw was tense and he sighed, Magnus coming closer, gently massaging the pain in his arm. Alec’s magic was no joke and he hissed, Alec turning to him and he then bit his lip. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” said Alec softly and Magnus didn’t want to dwell on it too much. “It’s just sometimes I get so angry that I can’t control myself and-and I-” he started, but then bit his tongue and didn’t talk for a little while.

Magnus was quite frankly pissed off about Clary and Jace too and the more he was thinking about it, the more his anger grew. It angered him that he was the only one trying to make this right. All of them thought that the Clave would magically come there and save their asses, but after  _ months _ no help was coming and Magnus was fed up with losing. They had to do something on their own if the Clave didn’t want to help, then so be it. Playing by the rules got them nowhere! With the anger bubbling up, Magnus took in a deep breath and then he leaned against the glass door.

“I promise to help you get reunited with your sister,” said Magnus and Alec was silent. “I’ll find a way,” he then added and Alec’s face was still dark and tense. It didn’t matter anymore, he’s been there for weeks, while Isabelle was all alone in Edom. In a way he felt as if he had forsaken her, abandoned, but that wasn’t true. She was going to think otherwise, though and he hated that. She was there with him when he needed her the most and now he just… he was  _ trying _ , but he still felt the guilt clawing at his chest and at times it was hard to  _ breathe _ , clasping his hands together. 

While Alec was drowning in his guilt, Magnus was thinking of alternative ways of getting to Edom and suddenly an idea popped into his mind. He almost felt stupid for not thinking of that earlier - it was so simple. “The rift,” said Magnus suddenly and Alec turned to him.

“Huh?”

“Lilith’s rift,” said Magnus and clasped his hands together. Alec perked up and he was listening. “It would allow you to cross to Edom and get your sister,” said Magnus and Alec tensed up.

“How will I know that you won’t just close it once I’m in?”

“I can’t close the rift on my own, remember?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded once he remembered.

“Right,” said Alec and then felt a bit more optimistic, but was still surprised that Magnus was prepared to risk so much all of the sudden. Still, it made him… hopeful. Magnus was different from others and he bit his lip. “What happened? I thought you were playing by the rules.”

“Yeah, you know what?” asked Magnus. “Screw the rules, I’m done. If no one is prepared to do anything productive about this whole thing, then screw it.” Alec’s eyes lit up as soon as he said that - he liked this side of the warlock. It was…  _ interesting.  _

“And the Clave?”

“Screw the Clave, screw the rules and screw Lilith, I’m fucking done being the only one trying to make this right,” said Magnus and Alec hummed -  _ yes.  _ Luckily Magnus knew exactly where the rift was currently located - Lilith had the tendency to move it around New York - so he created portal straight to there.

* * *

“You’re not gonna go with me?” asked Alec again, just wanting to make sure and Magnus shook his head - he couldn’t. He  _ couldn’t _ step a foot inside of Edom; just the sheer thought of it made him sick down to his stomach and he bit his lip, looking down.

“I can’t,” muttered Magnus and Alec crossed his arms on top of his chest. “Besides, I need to be here, just in case,” said Magnus and bit his lip. “Lilith has closed and reopened the rift more than once and she keeps changing its location, every time that we found it, she relocated it,” said Magnus and then rubbed his palms together. “So, I’ll stay here and wait for you and your sister,” said Magnus and then held in his breath, looking over at Alec, who nodded. Alec could understand him, Edom was a terrible place, he  _ hated _ it himself, so that was why he was fighting so much for him and Isabelle to be freed.

“Okay,” said Alec and stepped closer to the rift, looking down and he felt shivers going up his spine, rubbing his palms together. He was going back to Edom  _ one final time.  _ Isabelle was literally the only person he’d ever go back for and he then looked at Magnus, who was putting all of the trust into Alexander - as was Alec putting his into Magnus. Magnus didn’t know why trust came so easy when it came to the demon, but he couldn’t help himself. “You better be here when I’m back,” said Alec and then stepped closer to Magnus, who shuddered after feeling his hot breath against his lips. 

“ _ What? _ ”

“One kiss for good luck?” asked Alec shamelessly and Magnus rolled his eyes. Alec started laughing and he shrugged it off. “It was worth giving it a try,” said Alec and then got serious again, walking to the edge of the rift and then jumped inside, Magnus holding in his breath as Alec disappeared through the rift and then he hunched down, getting his magic ready and he gritted his teeth, hoping that Alec would be over with it soon.

* * *

Alec shuddered when he was back at the usual place - fire, destruction, flames and smoke everywhere. But it looked like Edom was even more in chaos like per usual, shuddering a little bit, but he shook his head and then clicked with his tongue - it was time to get his sister back and he didn’t hesitate anymore, snapping himself over to his and Isabelle’s realm. He could easily travel now that he was down in Edom; if only his powers would allow him to easily portal himself from Edom to Earth, but it didn’t work that way.  _ That _ freedom was taken away from him when- Alec snapped back to reality and stepped into the ruins of his and Isabelle’s mansion. 

“Isabelle?” called out Alec to his sister and then cleared his throat, the demons flying above him screeching and he grumbled. Again those pesky little shits were there to mess around with them. But he didn’t let that distract him and he stepped inside, looking around. “Iz, where are you? I’m back,” said Alec and he soon found his sister sharpening her blade, slowly turning around and there was a little grin on her face. 

“Killed the one who summoned you again, dear brother?” she asked as a wicked grin spread across her face and Alec rolled his eyes.

“ _ No, _ ” said Alec and Isabelle pouted, but tucked her knife into the holster and then hopped onto her feet. “I came through the rift, I’m here for you,” said Alec and Isabelle arched her eyebrow. “The warlock that summoned me, he,” said Alec. “Promised us freedom,” said Alec and Isabelle’s face changed, turning from the grin into confusion, to sadness and she swallowed. “We’ll be free, Izzy. Something that we’ve always wanted,” said Alec and Isabelle shuddered.

“Freedom?” scoffed Isabelle.

“Yeah.”

“What’s the catch. Freedom doesn’t come for free, you and I both know that.”

“I saved a Shadowhunter’s life for your freedom,” said Alec and wrinkled his nose. “And for mine, all I have to do is defeat Lilith and trap her back here,” said Alec, saying it as if it was going to be a piece of cake. “I mean we could use a bit of help. You are fantastic with the whip, sis,” said Alec and Isabelle rolled her eyes, but then finally smiled and stepped closer to Alec, wrapping her arms around him and she shuddered.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back,” she muttered and then pulled away from the hug. “I thought that you abandoned-”

“ _ Never _ ,” said Alec quickly and Isabelle huffed, nodding. “I might be a demon now, but I’d never abandon my little sister,” said Alec and his demon eyes were on display, shining black. Isabelle grinned, unglamouring her own demon eyes as well and she nodded.

“I know,” said Isabelle. “We’re on our side, we’re in this together.”

“Yeah,” said Alec and then grinned. “Now let’s get out of here,” he said and Isabelle couldn’t agree more as she also couldn’t wait to leave that horrible place behind.

* * *

Magnus was breathing hard, straining his magic as he was struggling to keep the rift open for Alexander to come back with his sister. Alec wasn’t even gone that long, but things started going downhill as soon as Alec crossed through the rift. Just as expected Lilith was able to sense that something was going on with her rift, so she was in a hurry to close it and reopen it on some other location. Unlike the other times, Magnus was prepared this time and as soon as it started closing up, Magnus fired up his magic and instead of trying to close it this time, he struggled to keep it open, which wasn’t any easier. In fact, it was even harder as he could feel Lilith on the other side, trying to close it, but she was succeeding - Magnus wasn’t letting her do so. 

Magnus’ vision was getting kind of blurry, straining his muscles, gritting his teeth as he was trying to keep the rift intact, but it was still slowly closing up and he was sweating, his legs getting weak. If that wasn’t enough, there were the demons flying above him, trying to distract him, but somehow he managed to fight off all of them, using his magic to blast them into ashes, while his magic on the rift still remained. If he wasn’t drained from the last week, he’d be having an easier time, but now he was stretched thin as it was, breathing hard and he slowly collapsed down onto his knees, but didn’t stop. He needed to be there for Alexander - he was there for him like promised, biting his lip and he huffed.

“Alexander, what the hell is taking you so long?” whined Magnus and then bit into his lip, looking through the rift and he shuddered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,  _ no _ ,” he said as the hole was closing up and he stood up once more - he wasn’t kneeling down in front of Lilith. His pride wasn’t going to allow him to do so and he used up the last bit of magic that was still in him, lightheaded as he struggled and that was finally when he saw a hand reaching up, Alexander climbing up, followed by a young woman - his sister, probably. Magnus’ eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed down, magic drained and he expected to hit the floor, but he never did. 

Alexander was back, he came back. That was when Magnus let his magic go, the rift closing up and he sighed in relief. As soon as Alec climbed up and helped his sister get to freedom as well, his eyes wandered off to Magnus, who wasn’t looking too good. He was stumbling over his feet and he looked like he was about to fall any time now, Alec’s body moving on its own and before Magnus could fall, his strong arms caught Magnus and kept him up. Magnus’ gaze was unfocused and he looked up, staring into Alec’s glamoured eyes at the moment.

“Finally,” breathed out Magnus and Alec smiled.

“I’ve got you,” whispered Alec and was caught by surprise how  _ soft _ his own voice sounded. Magnus managed a little smile, but then his face turned to horror when he saw a demon approaching them, from behind Alexander and Magnus shuddered.

“Behind you,” he managed to whisper and Alec turned around.

Alec angrily glared at all of the demons that had gathered at the place and he looked at his sister, who had her whip out now. She didn’t know the warlock, but she could already tell one thing - her brother was fond of him and was ready to protect him. He was the one who promised them freedom and that was enough for her to know for the time being - she stood with her brother no matter what and was going to protect Magnus as well. While she attacked the demons with her whips, Alec went for his magic, still holding Magnus with one of his hands, while dark sparks of magic were seen under his fingers and Magnus’ eyes slowly went shut, too tired to keep them open, but he could swear that before he lost his consciousness that he saw something black and feathery wrap itself around him, to keep him safe.

A few moments later, Alec and Isabelle managed to get rid of all of the demons and a little wicked smile spread across Isabelle’s face. Covered in demon blood, she giggled and then tucked her whip away. “That was fun,” she said, breathless and little bit and Alec had to agree - it was fun. “We’ve always been unbeatable together, big brother,” said Isabelle and then started fixing her clothes, Alec grinning.

“Indeed,” said Alec. “Always a pleasure to fight alongside you, sis,” he said and then looked down at Magnus, who was mumbling something. It looked like he was regaining his consciousness and Alec couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“That’s the warlock that promised you freedom?” asked Isabelle and Alec nodded. “I can see perfectly clearly now why you don’t mind helping him out,” said Isabelle and Alec choked. What the fuck?!

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“He’s totally your type, isn’t he?” asked Isabelle and Alec rolled his eyes.

“He promised us freedom, Izzy,” said Alec and Isabelle chuckled.

“Well, sure,” said Isabelle. “If you want to go with that, so be it,” she said under her breath, but didn’t miss out on how careful Alec was with Magnus. It’s been centuries since she had last seen her brother show any kind of kindness for someone except for her and it was… refreshing.   



	4. Chapter 4

“Alexander, you may let me down,” said Magnus as Alec’s arm was still wrapped around his waist and he was guiding him over to the sofa where the warlock would be able to rest up a little bit. Alec was the one who portalled all of them back to Magnus’ loft as the warlock’s magic was all fizzled up. “I’m feeling better,” stammered Magnus, which was a lie, but the demon listened to him. However, as soon as Alec let go off Magnus, he stumbled over his feet and almost ended up on the floor. Again, Alec was quick and he helped him stand up, Magnus groaning because he didn’t like feeling so helpless. “Fuck,” whispered Magnus and even though he didn’t want to, he grabbed onto the demon, who tensed up at the touch.

Alec didn’t know why he was doing this - why he was taking care of the warlock, why he  _ cared.  _ He’s spent centuries down in Edom and his sense for emotions had eventually slowly disappeared, which made him do terrible things. The only one who he truly cared for was Isabelle, but now here he was. Worried for a warlock and he just wouldn’t let him go - not until Magnus was safe and sound on that couch and he pressed his lips together, shaken up when Magnus touched his shoulder. His reaction, flinching, made Magnus quickly let go off him and Alec looked down, biting into his lip.

“You’re clearly not okay,” argued Alec and then because he got fed up with how slowly Magnus was walking, he scooped him up in his arms and carried him over to the couch. Magnus let out a loud yelp when he found himself in Alexander’s arms, bridal style, but he said nothing as the look on Alec’s face told him to stay quiet, so that was what he did and he looked over at Isabelle, who was being silent and was just watching her brother and Alec. Magnus blinked a few times and then just huffed - the Lightwood siblings were both gorgeous - how could demons be so  _ beautiful _ ?! Usually they made Magnus feel sick, but not this time. This time he felt safe and sound around them, which was really unsettling. Why would a demon make him feel safe?

“There,” said Alec and dropped Magnus onto the couch not too gently and Magnus whined, but didn’t complain too much and Magnus smiled as a thank you. Alec then continued to stare down at Magnus, not knowing what to do. It didn’t feel right just staring at him, but he also didn’t want to leave him alone. His protective side was alive and kicking and he still didn’t let himself completely cool off. What if one of the demons would follow them and attack Magnus in his loft? The wards were down, Magnus couldn’t re-do them and… yep, he was going to protect Magnus if someone would attack him. 

Magnus bit his lip and then looked towards Isabelle, who was now looking around the loft. She seemed to be quite impressed and then she plopped onto the couch next to Magnus. “Now we can be finally formally introduced,” she said and offered her hand to Magnus, who eyed it and smiled. “Isabelle Lightwood,” she said and Magnus reached up with his hand, shaking the demon’s hand.

“Magnus,” said the warlock and then withdrew his hand. Ugh, even that required way too much strength from him, slowly turning his head to the side a little bit and he then pressed his lips together. “Fuck, that really wore me out,” said Magnus and Alec turned to him, cocking his head to the side.

“What the hell even happened while I was down there?” asked Alec as he didn’t get the whole picture yet and Magnus swallowed thickly and then moved himself to the side, trying to make himself more comfortable and then he sadly sighed again. 

“It was as I predicted,” said Magnus. “As soon as we’re able to locate Lilith’s rift, she is in a hurry to close it,” he said and Alec’s eyes were growing. “So, as soon as you left for Edom, um, the rift started closing up,” said Magnus and Alec only listened. “I had to keep it open, it was a struggle but I managed to do it. You two showed up just in time. If you came any second later, the rift would be closed and well,” said Magnus. “Who knows when and where she’d open the next one,” said Magnus, rambling around, while Alec was taking everything in. “Plus, it didn’t help that she sent her flying monkeys my way either,” he joked, trying to make the situation kind of lighter, but Alec was only silent. Isabelle as well. 

Alec couldn’t really wrap his head around the fact that Magnus completely exhausted himself for him. He actually risked his life, because when a warlock’s magic would be strained so much to the limits… Alec pressed his lips together. And Magnus wasn’t even fully recovered from the day that he was trying to keep Jace alive, Alec’s heart again filling with anger and he grumbled, but then he shook his head. He and Isabelle were going to deal with the Shadowhunters later, it was on Alec’s list. And, fuck, he was impressed - keeping a rift open, going up against a Greater Demon that was trying to close it…  _ plus _ fighting off the demons was all in all impressive. Plus, Magnus’ magic was lacking already and he was biting his lip; now he finally saw just how powerful Magnus was and he shivered a little bit. He found a new-found respect for the warlock, who was now struggling to keep his eyes open and not pass out again. 

Magnus kept his promise, his sister was safe now with him, out of the hell and he was just… touched. It had been centuries since someone kept their promise that they’ve made to him. In the past he had been summoned many times, as was Isabelle… people demanding favours from them and they always kept their end of the deal. All the other person had to do was free them, but no one ever did. Everyone just sent them back to Edom and trap them there for good, so seeing that the outcome was different this time… Alec was just, he couldn’t understand. 

“You risked so much for Alec and me?” asked Isabelle and Magnus shrugged. “Why?”

“What do you mean  _ why _ ?” asked Magnus and narrowed his eyes. “Alec saved my friend’s life, even if he decided to be a traitor afterwards, but that doesn’t really matter now,” said Magnus and tried to wave it off. “Plus, I could see how much Alexander cares for you and family is important. I couldn’t just watch him suffer, could I?” asked Magnus weakly and then looked at Alec, who was still just taking in. Isabelle, on the other hand, was deeply moved. This warlock was a  _ keeper, _ Alec better be serious because right here he had someone that actually truly cared for him and Alec finally dared to move, though words fell short from his lips and he just gently touched Magnus’ forehead.

“He’s burning up,” muttered Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes - well, of course he was and he still probably wasn’t out of the mortal danger either. All of that seemed very clear and logical to the warlock at the moment and he moaned, feeling his every muscle in his body ache and he bit into his lip, trying not to show just how much he was in pain actually. It was funny that he didn’t want to make a  _ demon _ worried about him and he then just sighed, keeping as straight face as possible, but Alec was no fool. He could easily tell that Magnus was quite suffering and he was bothered by that. It was after what Magnus did for him - after he showed how selfless he was and that he wasn’t a traitor like the others, that Alec had seen him in a completely different way. He was truly touched and he wanted to help Magnus now. Without anything expected in return. 

“I’m fine,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head, Isabelle watching all of this quietly because this was interesting. It was very interesting and she cleared her throat - Magnus had unlocked something in Alec; he had unlocked all of those feelings that he kept safely locked away and only to himself. Isabelle didn’t want to meddle in, so she kept to herself. She had only met Magnus, so she didn’t want to butt in. Plus, Alec seemed like he got this; he was stronger than she was.

“You’re not. Now stop being so stubborn and let me see,” said Alec and then gently placed his hand on top of Magnus’ chest and the warlock stiffened because he didn’t know what Alec was going to perform on him, but he soon relaxed as he locked his gaze with Alec and he felt immediately calm. “I’ll just have a look, I won’t hurt you,” said Alec and still couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. That made Magnus smile and he sighed softly.

“I know,” said Magnus and Alec was tempted to smile. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on Magnus, sighing in relief because it didn’t seem that Magnus had suffered any kind of permanent damages. All that he needed was a good rest, but it was going to take a long time. Luckily, Alec knew just what to do and he went down onto his knees and Magnus didn’t know what to think of that, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just laid there and was unable to look away from Alec’s captivating gaze.

“Take my hand,” said Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

“Why?”

“You need strength, I’ll give you some,” said Alec simpyl and Magnus narrowed his eyes. Alexander was going to overflow him with his  _ demonic _ magic? Magnus shuddered, because he didn’t know how he felt about that. “Hold my hand and take what you need,” said Alec softly and Magnus shifted his gaze down a little bit. Alec didn’t get why Magnus was avoiding his gaze all of the sudden and he frowned. “No?”

“It’s just...”

“Oh, come on, you won’t turn into a demon,” whined Alec and Magnus arched an eyebrow. “It’s just a simple spell that will allow me to transfer some of my power onto you,” said Alec and Magnus nodded. “Besides, we need you soon on your feet. Don’t you want to defeat Lilith?” asked Alec and in the end Magnus nodded and took Alec’s hand into his own. Again, Alec tensed up at the touch because it almost felt intimate, but then he shook his head and forced himself to think about the spell.

Alec muttered something under his breath and not even a minute later Magnus felt  _ something.  _ It was power, he felt all of the power that Alexander possessed and honestly… it scared him to feel how powerful the demon was, Magnus’ back arching as he felt heat waves penetrating his body, Alec’s strength entering him in waves, slowly. Alec didn’t want to go too slow and Magnus was breathing fast because  _ wow _ . He had never felt anything like that and he grabbed onto Alec’s hand tightly, who tightened his hold as well and their eyes locked once more, Magnus grabbing onto the edge of the couch with his other hand and he shuddered.

“Wow… this is intense,” said Magnus and Alec nodded, his eyes closed again and after a few more seconds, he tore his hand away from Magnus’ and then leaned back, both of them breathing fast and uneven, Magnus feeling a lot better and he slowly sat up and looked at Alec, who was now looking up at him.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Much better,” muttered Magnus. “Thank you,” said Magnus softly and Alec nodded, a little smile on his face as well. And then there was Izzy, wearing one of the biggest grins on her face -  _ oh this was much interesting alright! _

* * *

Being split up into two groups was going to give them much opportunity to catch Lilith unprepared - at least that was what they hoped that would happen. Maybe luck was on their side. There were two groups; Raphael, Ragnor and Isabelle on one and Catarina, Magnus and Alec on the second group as they were all going to be up against Lilith pretty much soon. Isabelle’s group was sneaking in from the back and Alec’s was going from the front - they hoped that they would create enough chaos and maybe they would succeed, Magnus feeling his heart hammering hard in his ribcage, but he had to admit it - it was a good feeling, the rush of adrenaline spreading over his body and he shuddered, looking over at Catarina, who was unglamoured, saving up her energy for the attacks and Magnus swallowed thickly.

A few days had passed, Magnus’ friends came back. All of them apologised, but there was no apologising to be done. Still, they insisted on wanting to make a change; to finally put a stop at this terror that was going on and they were done with hiding and doing nothing. Just like Magnus they had a change of heart, because the Shadowhunters for sure weren’t doing anything about it, so there they were. All three of them were still wary of working with the demons, but for now they were on good terms; they had a mutual understanding. Maybe not trust, but for now it was working. 

Lilith’s hiding spot was an abandoned house, which didn’t really come as a surprise because a place like this would go completely unnoticed from people’s eyes and Magnus stiffened a little bit, Alec turning around and he looked at both warlocks, eyes stopping on Magnus and he then took in a deep breath. “Are you both ready?” asked the demon and Magnus looked at Catarina, both of them nodding in unison. “Great, let’s get moving then. I’m itching to slit a few demon throats,” said Alec as a wicked grin spread across his face and Catarina shuddered. Alexander was soft and kind but he was a demon after all, Magnus nodding and he took in a deep breath.

“Yes, let’s get going,” said Magnus and Alec finally opened up the door of the abandoned house. Magnus didn’t really know what to expect, but the place was eerily silent and he didn’t like that. It was completely dark on the inside, filling his heart with extra horror. The floor was wet and red - blood. It was blood, of course it was and Magnus shuddered, looking over to Catarina, who didn’t let her guard down no matter what, her magic already fizzling under her fingers, Magnus snapping his fingers and did the same, getting ready to attack.

“It’s way too quiet in here,” said Catarina and bit her lip, looking at Magnus. “Maybe this was a set up? Maybe they aren’t even here?” she asked, sounding kind of hopeful as she wanted to get out from there. Magnus looked around and something moved on his right and he wasn’t so sure that they were completely alone. He didn’t know why but he got the feeling of being watched and it was really unsettling, Alec shaking his head.

“We’re not alone,” said Alec and Catarina flinched. “They’re watching us,” said Alec as he could feel the other demons in the room and Magnus felt chills going down to his bones. “Getting ready to rip us apart,” he added and Magnus wished that Alec would stop being so graphic about it and he gulped. “Soon, now,” he said and Magnus was holding in his breath, so was Catarina. “Get ready…  _ behind you _ ,” yelled Alec and Magnus quickly turned around, blasting a fireball of magic into the pitch black. He couldn’t see, but he hoped that he managed to hit the demon.

* * *

“Tired?” asked Alec and chuckled upon hearing Magnus scoff, standing back up after he knelt to avoid the demon pouncing him and Catarina’s magic was what blasted him into ashes, Magnus grinning as he looked at his friend, who was having fun with kicking some demon ass. While they were at it for more than half an hour, the demon were still coming and honestly Magnus had never seen so many demons at one place and it looked like Isabelle’s team was busy in the back as well, because they could hear the groans and demons screeching in pain from there as well. 

“Yeah, right. I can keep on going for hours. Don’t question my stamina, Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec laughed back, his black magic hitting the demons behind Catarina, who sent him a wink and he grinned back. Oh, this was so much fun and he Magnus found himself burning another Shax demon. It felt good hearing it screech in pain and he then grinned, Alec stopping by him as well, out of breath a little bit, but wasn’t losing his cool at all. 

“Oh, I’d love to hear more about your stamina, warlock,” said Alec and sent Magnus a wink, who rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe that the demon was flirting with him in the middle of a battle, but then again… it wasn’t the first for him and he laughed back. “Maybe you could show me how long you can keep up,” said Alec and Magnus shook his head, creating a fire whip with his magic and managed to capture two of the demons at the same time and Alec was the one who put them down.

“Keep on dreaming, pretty boy,” challenged him Magnus and Alec whistled.

“Pretty handy with that whip,” said Alec and laughed. “I wouldn’t complain if you’d use it on me sometime,” he carried on and Magnus rolled his eyes.

“It’s  _ fire. _ ”

“Exactly,” said Alec and his black eyes were back, making Magnus shudder, but not in a bad way… it was more of an excitement spreading through his body and Catarina was standing there by the side and was shaking her head - flirting and fighting. Still, they didn’t miss out on even one demon and soon they stopped coming. It looked like that for now they were able to wipe all of them out for the time being and Catarina sat down, feeling quite worn out of it, Magnus looking at his friend.

“All good?”

“Yeah, just need to catch my breath,” said Catarina and then ran her fingers through her hair and then shook her hair. “Where’s Lilith?” she asked and looked at Alec, who wasn’t so sure anymore. He was able to feel her before, but now… he clicked with his tongue - it looked like the bitch had gotten away and this was nothing but a game for her.

“Can’t feel her anymore,” said Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She escaped, I don’t know,” whispered Alec and looked down, Magnus biting his lip and felt anger bubbling up from within and he punched the wall. Hard. He let out a frustrated groan and then set down next to Catarina, who gave him a sympathetic look. 

“It just feels… every time when we make progress… it’s like one step forward and two steps back and I’m so fucking sick of it,” he groaned, running his fingers through his hair and he pulled on it out of frustration. “We’ll never be able to capture her at this rate,” he said and shook his head. Alec didn’t say anything, Catarina wrapping an arm around him and he pulled him closer, rubbing his back, trying to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, but Magnus still blamed himself. 

Alec was about to say something, but then he heard his sister screaming from the back and his blood went cold. Magnus was quick on his feet and he pulled Catarina up. “Izzy!” yelled out Alec and didn’t hesitate running to the back of the abandoned building. “What… what happened?!” he asked and ran into the back room, where Ragnor and Raphael were at the side of the room, trying to prevent the situation from going out of hands. But there was Isabelle, standing in the middle of the room, holding at her stomach and chills ran up Alec’s spine when he saw that it was a Seraph blade.  _ Shadowhunters.  _

“You  _ bitch _ ,” screamed Isabelle and turned around to face her attacker, Alec’s eyes darkening when he saw the red-head. Clary. “You ruined my tank top,” screamed Isabelle, not bothering to take the blade out quite yet and she started walking towards the girl. Clary was confused - how didn’t the blade kill the demon?! Alec held himself back and watched his sister deal with Clary, who was now walking back, faster and faster. “Foolish, little girl,” said Isabelle and then pinned Clary up against the wall and Clary tried to scream, but her screams stayed in her throat once Isabelle brought her face close to hers.

Clary was shaking, she was unarmed and Isabelle was grinning - now she was going to enjoy this. She gently stroked Clary’s cheek and giggled when Clary let out a muffled scream. “Since you’re pretty I’ll make this quick,” said Isabelle and gently placed her finger on top of Clary’s mouth. “Such a shame, so pretty, but well,” said Isabelle and changed her staff into whip and Clary started shaking her head. The whip wrapped itself around Clary’s neck, but before she was able to squeeze at it, Magnus ran up to her.

“Isabelle,  _ no _ ,” he yelled and Isabelle turned to him and angrily hissed.

“Why not?! She stabbed me!” she said and pointed to her stomach. “She ruined my tanktop and now thanks to her I’ll have an ugly scar to remember her by,” said Isabelle, but Magnus insisted and used his magic to let Izzy go off the whip and she grumbled. 

“She’s my friend,” said Magnus and Clary looked at him, her scared eyes looking down - she was ashamed. Guilty for betraying him and he looked away as well. “Clary, that is Alexander’s sister, so… please don’t try to stab her the next time, okay? She’s on  _ our _ side and she and Alexander had helped us to get rid of all the demons in the house, so…” said Magnus bitterly and Isabelle walked away, but still wanted to strangle  _ her.  _ “What are you doing here?” 

“There was demon disturbance, so we were called here and… it looks like you guys took care of them already,” she mumbled and Magnus nodded. There was a moment of silence in between thm as Magnus didn’t know what to say, he was still hurt that she turned his back on him just like that, so it was Clary that started the conversation. “Look, Magnus, about the other day,” she said and Magnus shook his head.

“I don’t want more excuses, Clarissa.”

“ _ No _ ,” said Clary and pressed her lips together. “I just want to say that I was a very bad friend and… I wanted to apologise,” she said and made another pause. “I shouldn’t have abandoned you and  _ him _ , he saved Jace’s life after all,” she carried on. “It was selfish of me, but I just want to apologise and if my any chance you can forgive me, I would gladly help you all out. No questions asked, I’ll be there and-” she started, but Magnus then hugged her and then just nodded. Now wasn’t the time to hold grudges, plus he could see that she was really sorry about it. 

“You’re forgiven, Biscuit,” said Magnus and she smiled. Magnus wasn’t asking about Jace though, because frankly the blonde pissed him off way too many times so he was done trying. But he was happy that Clary was back on their side and he needed to fill her in on many things. 

“Are you okay?” asked Alec as he was checking up on his sister.

“Do I look okay?” deadpanned Isabelle and Alec shook his head. “Ugh, get this thing out from me,” she said and pointed to the blade, Alec flinching and then he nodded, taking in a deep breath. It didn’t go unnoticed from her eyes how Alec’s hand trembled as he grabbed for the blade and Isabelle hissed as she felt the blade sliding out from her. “That hurts like a bitch,” she whined and Magnus eyed at them.

Alec was still holding the blade and kept staring at it for a few moments. It was dark in the room, but Magnus could have sworn that he saw the blade lightning up. Not bright colour as it appeared when a Shadowhunter was holding a blade, but there was dark… red, almost black light and as soon as Alec saw that Magnus saw that he dropped the blade on the floor and stepped away from it. Magnus didn’t make a comment about it, but… 

“So the little girl’s back,” whined Alec and Clary nodded.

“How fun,” said Isabelle and rolled her eyes. “You are paying for this,” she then said and pointed to her her clothes. Clary didn’t talk back as she learned her lesson; she was afraid of the Lightwoods and rightfully so.

“Stop bickering, we must stay united,” said Magnus and Alec forced himself to nod. It was hard, but he also managed a smile, which disappeared as soon as Magnus turned around and he flipped Clary off with a burning passion. Her jaw dropped, but she said nothing.    
  



	5. Chapter 5

Magnus had a lot on his mind, many questions were starting to dwell on him and he didn’t know how to bring them up with Alexander. He was biting on his lip as he watched Alexander sipping on his expensive whiskey and he then took in a deep breath. Just many of the things didn’t add up about the Lightwood siblings - they couldn’t be normal demons. Well, they were both Greater Demons, but it still made no sense. No demon blooded creature would be able to survive the Seraph blade. Even if they were powerful they wouldn’t be able to appear as okay as Isabelle did. She was pissed, but that was all - it didn’t seem like the stab wound caused her too much pain and he was biting on his lip. But that wasn’t the only thing; he was more curious about the blade lighting up when Alexander took it into his hand and he then rubbed the back of his neck.

Magnus really didn’t know what he saw back then; maybe his eyes deceived him, but he was still curious about it. The blade couldn’t have actually lit up, could it? But still, Magnus could have sworn that he saw it happened with his own two eyes and it had been bothering him ever since. It’s only been a couple of days, but still. He couldn’t shake off this feeling that there was more to the Lightwoods than them just being normal Greater Demons and he was biting his lip again. Still, he didn’t want to anger Alexander, because whatever happened in the past had to be connected to the Shadowhunters and them betraying him and his sister. That much was clear to him and he didn’t want to upset the demon. On the other hand, the curiosity was killing him.

And there was another thing - the day when they went to get Isabelle through the rift. Before passing out, Magnus could have sworn that he saw something suddenly springing up from behind Alexander’s back, it wrapping around him and he pressed his lips together. It was black and it… it was feathery. All of it pointed to  _ wings _ , but that was just downright impossible. That was probably just a plot of Magnus’ imagination because he really wasn’t in a good shape, so he didn’t dwell on that bit too much. But the blade thing really did make him wonder about some things and he sighed, looking towards Alexander again, who was groaning and Magnus arched an eyebrow - did he do something wrong again? One could never be too sure when it came to Alexander. 

“Could you please stop that?” whined Alec as he was glaring at Magnus from the couch and Magnus flinched, but then still made his way closer to Alec and he was still confused - he really didn’t do anything now. Maybe he did, but just didn’t know what that would be. Alec had random things that suddenly started bothering him, so he just tried not to make a big deal out of it.

“Did I do something to bother you?”

“Yes, obviously,” said Alec and Magnus cocked his head. “See, you’re doing it again. Can you please stop thinking so loudly?” asked Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes - was Alexander able to read minds?! Magnus didn’t really know where his powers stopped and just how far they were able to go, but he was suddenly feeling uncomfortable and he was looking rather unsure.

“My  _ thinking _ is bothering you?” asked Magnus and rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me that you’re able to read minds,” said Magnus and then scoffed, but there was some seriousness behind his voice and Alec only rolled his eyes. 

“Of course I can’t read minds,” grumbled Alec and then shuddered. Yeah, as if he didn’t have enough on his plate! Just thinking about being able to read minds made him shudder as he already didn’t like dealing with most of people so being able to hear their minds made him want to gag and he quickly shrugged it off. “But I can still hear how loud your thoughts are and honestly it’s pissing me off as I can’t properly enjoy this drink,” said Alec and placed his legs on top of Magnus’ coffee table and the warlock crossed his arms on top of his chest. So, Alec was going back to his grumpy self. Magnus didn’t appreciate the attitude and he snapped his fingers, yanking Alec’s legs off of the coffee table with his magic and the demon sent him a not too happy look. “What the fuck?!”

“Legs are off the table, I thought we’ve had this discussion already,” said Magnus and rolled his eyes. “And I also don’t appreciate you drinking all of my whiskey,” he carried on and Alec kept muttering something under his breath, but he didn’t say anything out loud. Though he kept sipping the whiskey just to piss Magnus off even more and the warlock then massaged his temples. “Never mind,” he said. “Look, can I ask you something?”

Alec looked up and down him and then sighed. “If you must.”

“Okay,” said Magnus and hoped that Alexander wasn’t going to get too angry. “Back then at the abandoned house,” said Magnus, starting off slowly and Alec nodded, the warlock taking in a deep breath. “After we’ve dealt with all of the demons and-and after Clarissa hurt your sister,” said Magnus and could see that Alec’s eyes darkened, his face stiffened, but he said nothing and Magnus continued. “When you grabbed on the Seraph blade I think I’ve something that doesn’t make sense,” said Magnus and Alec was visibly uncomfortable where Magnus was going with that.

“Well, then it probably doesn’t make sense, does it?” asked Alec and then looked away, no longer in the mood to be enjoying in his drink and he placed it onto the coffee table and Magnus nodded, but then only shrugged.

“Yes… I mean no. I don’t know what I’ve seen, but,” said Magnus and then rubbed his palms together. “Look, I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I can’t help but to wonder that you and your sister are more than just demons,” said Magnus and Alec scoffed and then rolled his eyes.

“We’re Greater Demons,  _ duh. _ ”

Magnus shook his head. “No, not like that,” said Magnus. “Isabelle was stabbed with the Seraph blade, but she didn’t… seem too bothered by that. She was more concerned about her clothes if I’m being honest and that’s… odd,” said Magnus. “I mean yes, you two are stronger than most demons, but even so, it’s strange that she didn’t seem in pain at all. There was… I don’t know how to explain it, but no demon should be able to-”

“Magnus, stop,” said Alec, but the warlock didn’t listen as he was too caught up in the moment.

“And-and then the blade lit up when you held it,” said Magnus and Alec’s eyes filled with horror. Alec saw Magnus looking at his way, but he didn’t think that he saw everything and he swallowed thickly. “That’s  _ not _ normal,” said Magnus and shook his head. “No demon blooded creature is able to make the blade light up, only someone with blood that is ange-”

“You were right,” said Alec. “It makes no sense. I’m a demon,” said Alec and was avoiding looking at Magnus, which was another hint. “Now drop it because you’re literally lowering my IQ with such stupid conspiracy theories,” said Alec and rolled his eyes, but Magnus wasn’t backing down.

“I know what I saw,” said Magnus and Alec groaned. 

“I know what this is,” said Alec and Magnus arched an eyebrow. “Look,  _ warlock _ ,” spat Alec and he was being cruel on purpose, because Magnus’ heart fell as soon as he was spoken to like that and he gulped. “I know you might think that I’m  _ nice _ because I’m on your side, but don’t get mistaken. This was a part of the deal - I help you in exchange for my freedom. This is all it is,” said Alec and his voice was shaking a little bit. He was… not his usual self. Magnus could tell that he was caught off guard as he didn’t have all of his emotions under control. Alexander didn’t really mean what he was saying, that much was clear to Magnus, but it still hurt because he thought that it was more than just a deal. That he and Alexander were maybe… well, he didn’t really know how to call it, but still. “I’m a demon,” said Alec. “Don’t forget that, I can literally snap your-”

“Oh, if you wanted me dead you’d do it weeks ago,” snapped Magnus back because he didn't appreciate how Alec was talking to him. Both of them were stubborn enough. “I didn’t mean any harm, but I was just being-”

“Stupid?” asked Alec. “Yeah you were. You’re trying to paint me as a hero, but I am  _ not _ a hero. Maybe you’re trying to justify your feelings for me to yourself, trying to paint me something else than a demon in your eyes, but don’t get carried away,“ said Alec and Magnus shuddered.. what kind of feelings was he talking about? Magnus’ heart was beating much faster and he then formed fists with his hands. “We’re not friends, I don’t even care for you,” said Alec.

“Then why did you save me that day? You were free, you and Isabelle could have ran away and leave me to die, but you didn’t,” said Magnus and then shook his head. “Why do you have to be so stubborn? I’m just trying to help you and-”

“Well I don’t need your help,” snapped Alec. “I don’t need anyone’s help.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you or-” started Magnus, but Alec had had it enough - he was done talking and he wasn’t in the mood to be there anymore. As he didn’t want to say something that he would regret it later - not that he cared about it, as he liked to convince himself - he snapped with his fingers and thus Alec left Magnus’ loft. The warlock sighed and then shook his head. Well one thing was for sure; Alexander  _ did _ care and he then just leaned back in his couch. If only he would open up a bit more.

* * *

Alec portalled straight to his sister - the Lightwoods were able to feel one and the other, so he could easily find her and his eyes widened just a little bit when he found himself in the front of the New York’s Institute, looking over to his right side and there he found Isabelle - standing in front of the building, having her blade ready, sharp and he narrowed his eyes - what was she playing at? Well, whatever it was, he was intrigued and Isabelle grinned when she saw her brother coming to her. “Alec, what are you doing here?” asked Izzy because she was a little surprised to see her brother - wasn’t he supposed to be hanging out with Magnus?

“I got bored, so I came to check up on you, sis,” said Alec and Isabelle chuckled.

“Ah,” she said and then carried on. “So you two had a fight,” she said simply and Alec’s jaw dropped - he never really liked how easily Isabelle was able to read him. Well, he liked it, but also didn’t and he grumbled.

“We didn’t-” stammered Alec and then narrowed his eyes. “How did you-” he then started again, but then just rolled his eyes. “You know, just never mind and  _ don’t _ answer that,” said Alec and then crossed his arms on top of his chest, Isabelle grinning, but then she looked back at her blade and grinned when she saw her reflection it in. It was sharp and ready to cut someone - Isabelle had just the perfect target. “Why are you here anyway? In front of the Institute, I mean.”

“I was bored, so I came here,” said Isabelle and Alec arched an eyebrow. “I’m here to collect a gift for you,” said Isabelle and Alec looked confused. “For getting me free of Edom it just seems fair to give you something in return,” she said. Alec didn’t get what was she doing at the Institute though because there was nothing really that would interest him there. “I was about to break in and get that Shadowhunter whose life you saved, but then he turned his back on you,” she said and Alec’s eyes widened a little bit, but then soon his usual grin was back and he stepped over to his sister. Alec’s demon eyes were out all of the sudden, because that sounded…  _ like the perfect way to spend some free time.  _

“You’re the best sister ever,” said Alec and Isabelle nodded, running her fingers over the blade and grinned when she felt it piercing her skin. 

“This is gonna hurt,” said Isabelle.

“Though we mustn't kill him - he’s still Magnus’ friend,” said Alec and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, killing him would be way too easy and nearly as not much fun as we go about it a different way,” said Isabelle. “But since now that you’re here, perhaps you’d wanna join me?” asked Isabelle and a little sly smirk spread across Alec’s face - how could he say no? Alec could feel that not many Shadowhunters were in the Institute, but he hoped that one of them was that traitor, because he still haven’t forgiven him for what he had done. How he just decided to ignore him and Magnus. He also didn’t forgive Clary yet, because if you’d ask him, she was just as bad as him. It didn’t matter that she apologised; that didn’t matter. Apologies were just empty words, manipulation and once the trust was broken… it was the end for Alec. It was like breaking a mirror - sure, you could put it back together, but you could still see the cracks. It was how he rolled. 

“Would be a pleasure,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows, Isabelle handing him her blade as she didn’t need it. She had her whip with her, so she could have easily fought without it, Alec taking it. “After you, sis,” he said and felt adrenaline spreading over his body as he watched Isabelle making her way to the Institute and Alec didn’t hesitate to follow her. Attacking the Institute was probably a bad idea, but Alec didn’t care. His only deal was to help defeat Lilith that was it. And honestly, killing a few Shadowhunters in the process was going to be a  _ bonus.  _

* * *

Getting into the Institute was far easier than Isabelle and Alec had first anticipated. There wasn’t a lot of the Shadowhunters inside, so they had no problems getting through the  _ guard.  _ There were about eight Shadowhunters that were there guarding the place and as soon as Alec and Isabelle opened the door by force the alarm went off and two groups of Shadowhunters ran towards them. Alec grinned and he didn’t even bother using the blade, using his magic instead for defence - he swiped with his hand swiftly and two of the hunters went flying through the room, hitting the wall with a loud thump and stopped moving. Unfortunately they weren’t dead, just knocked out, but Alec didn’t want to get his hands dirty - he was there with one goal; to get to Jace and finally teach him a lesson.

Isabelle was having fun, happily wrapping her whip, wrapping it around a Shadowhunters and then she pulled on it hard, making him trip over his feet. Then she suddenly let him go, making him hit the wall as well and he didn’t pick himself off the ground again. Honestly, it was child’s play and after only five minutes the fun was gone, Alec clicking with his tongue and he wasn’t impressed. “That’s it?” asked Isabelle and wrinkled her nose. “That’s the best they’ve got?” she asked, the whip slowly disappearing and she was soon wearing her snake bracelet again, Alec shaking his head.

“Pathetic, they’ve gotten weak throughout the years,” said Alec and then narrowed his eyes, looking around the place. The thing was - they weren’t alone though. There were still a few people present in the room and they decided to split up. Alec went to the right and Isabelle went to the left, Alec hunching down as he was gripping on his blade, hoping that he would get to Jace. His heart darkenied again and he groaned, pressing his lips and he then crept up from behind. 

There stood a Shadowhunter - tall, leaning over the computers and Alec slowly came closer. The other didn’t even notice him being there and he grinned. This was going to be a piece of cake, his anger bubbling up again because when he came closer he saw that the hunter was blonde. Thinking that it was Jace, Alec wasted no more time. Catching him off guard, he ran up to him from behind and then before he gave the other chance to resist, he took a hold of one one his arms and twisted it up against his back, making the other whine in pain and Alec grinned. With his other hand he brought the blade up and pressed it up against the other’s neck. He was pressed up against the other, holding him close and when the other resisted, he only twisted his arm more, making him wince in pain and Alec grinned.

“There you are, you little… wait, you’re not Jace,” suddenly said Alec because the other turned his head a bit to the side and Alec could see his profile. Nope, not Jace and he narrowed his eyes. “Where’s Jace?” hissed Alec and pressed the blade tighter against the other’s neck.

“H-hold on a second,” said the hunter and Alec narrowed his eyes. “You are the demon who broke into the Institute… how can you… there’s angelic runes-”

“Hey, I’m asking the questions here,” said Alec and grumbled. He didn’t like when people talked back and he then squeezed the other tighter. “Answer the question - where is Jace?”

“I don’t know,” mumbled the other.

“Liar, of course you do know,” said Alec and then pressed his lips together. “If you value your life, I suggest you to listen to me and-” he started, but then was cut off when he heard Isabelle coming closer, muffled yelps being heard as she walked and soon she stepped into the main room, her whip wrapped around a vampire that was struggling to get free, but it didn’t really work and Alec almost laughed - so a Shadowhunter and a vampire were there to guard the Institute? 

“I found this in the back,” said Isabelle and pulled on her whip, the vampire stumbling over his feet as he struggled to keep up. “I asked him where the traitor is, but he claims that he doesn’t know,” she said and then glared at the vampire, who flinched and looked down. 

“Funny enough, this one doesn’t know where Jace is as well,” said Alec as he was still holding him, the blade resting against his throat. “But something’s telling me that they’re lying,” said Alec and then scoffed. “But well, if they won’t cooperate, might as well kill them,” said Alec. 

“K-kill us?!” shrieked the vampire. “Listen-listen, you guys, I don’t think that it would be a very good idea,” stammered the nervous vampire and then looked around to Isabelle. “I mean think about it this way - would you really benefit anything from killing us. We’re just innocent bystanders; we never did anything wrong to you guys. We don’t even know you,” he stammered. “We can make a deal - we’ll never mention about any of this happening if you just leave us alone and-”

“Ugh, Izzy, let’s kill the vampire first, he talks way too much,” groaned Alec and as soon as he said that, the vampire stopped talking. 

“Don’t you think it would be a shame?” she asked and studied him. “He’s kind of cute, I could have lots of fun playing with him,” she said and brought her face closer to the vampire’s, who quickly looked down and gulped. “Why don’t we kill the Shadowhunter first?” she then asked and looked at the blonde.

“How about we don’t kill anyone, just a suggestion,” said the vampire, but quickly stopped talking after he saw Alec glaring at him - yes, maybe it would indeed be better for both of them if he stopped talking. 

“It’s not up to you, vampire,” hissed Isabelle.

“I’m Simon,” said the vampire and Isabelle rolled her eyes.

“Don't care,” she shot back and then looked at Alec, who was thinking what to do. Maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to kill them after all - they would have to get rid of the bodies. Plus, there were probably cameras everywhere. Maybe just kidnap them and them kill them there. Would be a better idea. Alec was brainstorming ideas, Isabelle getting impatient. “Alec, which one should we off first?” she asked and both of the other two perked up.  _ Alec?!  _ So, that would make her Isabelle?!

“I suppose the Shadowhunter after all,” said Alec after a little while and the blonde finally spoke.

“Wait, wait… I know where Jace is,” he suddenly said and Alec hummed - oh, so this was the key to untangle their tongues. Threatening usually worked, yes, so Alec should have thought of that beforehand and he looked at him. “Idris,” said the blonde and Alec looked at Isabelle, whose face darkened and Alec didn’t like the sound of that. “He’s there… trying to persuade the Clave to help… with the Lilith situation,” he said. 

“And you two are Alec and Izzy!” pointed out Simon and Alec narrowed his eyes - how did he know their names?! “We’re on your side, Clary told us everything,” said Simon and Alec still wasn’t buying it. “You two are demons who are helping us deal with Lilith, yes, she filled us in,” said Simon. “And-and I and Underhill are completely supporting you all,” carried on the nervus vampire.

“ _ Yes, _ ” said the Shadowhunter. “By the angel, would you please stop pointing that blade at me and let us explain?” he asked and Alec looked at Isabelle, who shook her head. She didn’t trust them. Neither did Alec, but maybe Magnus knew about these two - they were new members of  _ their _ side, or whatever. Alec didn’t really care, but he didn’t want to get into an even bigger argument with Magnus, so he dropped his blade. “Thank you,” said Underhill and Alec was glaring at him. 

“Alec!” said Izzy.

“Let the vampire go, Iz, let’s hear them out,” said Alec and Isabelle grumbled, but listened to him, pulling her whip back and Simon’s knees got wobbly, supporting himself against the wall. “Though I still don’t like or trust you,” said Alec and looked at Underhill.

“Good, we’re on the same boat,  _ demon _ ,” said Underhill and crossed his arms on top of his chest. “But is Jace and Clary say-”

“Jace is a traitor,” said Alec.

“What part of  _ let us explain _ you don’t get?” asked Underhill, Alec rolling his eyes, but he was quiet after that. “Jace, the traitor, is in Idris,” said Underhill. “As you may or may not know his grandmother is the Inquisitor and he’s trying to get backup because we’re losing here,” said Underhill and rubbed his forehead. “Why do you think the Institute is practically empty?” asked Underhill. “All Shadowhunters are out on missions. Either that or they’re...” he said and his voice trailed off. “My point being… we need  _ help _ ,” said Underhill.

“Yeah well no  _ duh. _ ”

“And it’s literally the only reason why I decided to side with a demon,” he said. “ _ Demons. _ I’ve heard what you did for Jace so… I’m prepared to work with your side,” said Underhill. “And if Jace doesn’t succeed, he’s on our side as well,” said Underhill. Alec didn’t buy it.

“I don’t believe you,” said Alec.

“I don’t believe you either, but here we are,” said Underhill. 

“Izzy, what do we do?” whispered Alec.

“Ask Magnus?” asked Isabelle and Alec nodded. 

“We ask Magnus,” he repeated and then tied both Underhill and Simon up, portalling them over to Magnus’ loft - they needed to be sure that those two were indeed on their side. As it turned out, they really were. Clary confirmed it later, after she came from the mission she was sent off to. As Underhill was the head of the security back at the Institute, he somehow agreed to delete all of the security cameras of the Lightwoods breaking in, though he wasn’t too keen on the idea, but well… they didn’t want the demons who were helping them on camera attacking and breaking into the Institute, just in case. 

And a bit later… when it was just Magnus and Alec again… the demon apologised properly for snapping at the warlock and he got an apology in return from Magnus as well. And Magnus… was smiling, though the demon didn’t really know why. It was just a stupid apology that he was forced into… forced as in he didn’t like how tight his chest was when he’d look at Magnus. Yep, so he was forced into apologising to Magnus. 


	6. Chapter 6

_ Alec was sitting, darkness around him, gulping and he raised his head. He could hear his sister from the outside, she was arguing with their father and Alec just dropped his head down, trying to swallow back his tears, because the damage was done. There was nothing to cry over anymore - his destiny was decided and he tried to think of anything else but that. _

_ “But father, Alec didn’t do anything wrong,” argued Isabelle and Alec shuddered. But he did - he did a wrong thing. He didn’t mean to, but he ended up trusting the wrong people and that was now going to cost him his freedom for good. “He didn’t know that he would end up working for the wrong side,” she said and Alec didn’t want to listen to it anymore. “They have him captured in there like he’s some kind of an animal,” she then said. Her voice was loud and determined and Alec placed his hands on top of his ears, begging silently Isabelle to let it go. He knew that if she wouldn’t let it go, then she would end up the same way that he did. _

_ “Isabelle, I am trying to do everything that it’s in my power to free Alec,” whispered Robert and Alec pressed his lips together. It was true, he didn’t doubt their father one bit - he was the only Shadowhunter that he trusted still, but it was him against hundreds of other hunters and he was outnumbered, so he didn’t blame the man at all. Wrapping his arms around him, Alec closed his eyes and tried to stop his body from shivering. Not only that it was dark, but it was also cold. The floor he had been sitting on was wet and cold, making his teeth chatter and he just shook his head. _

_ “You’re not doing enough,” she argued back and Alec’s heart was breaking. He begged Isabelle to stop trying to free him, he begged of her to just move on and try to forget him - that was the only way that she would have a happy life. If not, she would also be chased and then put in a prison like he was, biting his lip and he didn’t want that to happen to his precious sister. “He doesn't deserve this, they should have captured the one that got Alec into this mess. It's just because he's different, because he's part-” _

_ “I know, Isabelle,” snapped Robert and Alec could feel the sheer agony in their father’s voice. “Why do you think I’ve kept both of you hidden from the world?” asked Robert and Isabelle finally stopped talking because that was true. She knew that their father was trying his best, but it was just so terrible. Isabelle hated feeling so helpless and powerless. She wanted to protect her brother, like he always protected her in the past, but there was nothing that she could do for him at the time and that hurt. _

_ “I know, dad,” mumbled Isabelle and then shook her head. “I know that you’re trying your best,” she carried on after she finally calmed down a little bit and Alec heard Robert sighing, slowly moving to the door. The two of them must had heard him shifting through the floor and both of them perked up, Alec hearing Isabelle’s little sniffle, but she soon recovered and she approached the door. “Alec?” she asked and Alec only stayed silent for a little while, but then he took in a deep breath. _

_ “Yeah,” said Alec and then tried to cheer himself up, but it wasn’t really working. He was glad that his sister and father came to visit. “Listen, Iz, I’ve told you already, you shouldn’t… try and help me anymore, because it’s too late,” he said and then took in a deep breath. “You should save yourself and leave Idris, because they’ll come after you as well,” mumbled Alec and then leaned against the wall again - could hear that Isabelle was shaking her head, he could just tell because Isabelle was just like him - just like he, she would also never leave her family behind and Isabelle gritted her teeth. _

_ “You say like it’s so easy,” she said and then clenched her teeth. “If it was me, you’d be doing the same, you wouldn’t leave me behind, would you?” asked Izzy and Alec didn’t reply, which told her that she was right; of course she was, she knew Alec like an open book. “So _ no _ , I’m not giving up on you,” she said and Alec bit his lip because he knew that it wasn’t going to end well. For neither of them, but he couldn’t lie and say that he didn’t appreciate Isabelle staying there next to him. Because it made him feel less lonely. _

_ “Hang in there, son,” said Robert and Alec opened his eyes again. “Your sister and I will get you out of this, we promise,” he said and Alec could laugh, because such a promise should never be said. Promises were there only to be broken, because wasn’t it always like that? Promises were nothing, promises were empty words and once he was full of hope and happiness, but now he was just a shell of what he used to be. But there was this feeling of anger and resentment growing in him, getting stronger and he could feel his soul darkening which every day that he spent in there, caged like a wild animal and he was afraid. Afraid of himself and what he might do to others, because sometimes he honestly thought about- _

_ “You hear that, Alec?” asked Isabelle, but Alec wasn’t listening anymore. He was with his dark thoughts again - the image of him breaking out and burning down the Clave, each and every member he’d burn alive and… “Dad and I got this,” said Isabelle and then narrowed her eyes, because Alec wasn’t listening. “Alec? Do you hear me? Alec? Alec!” _

* * *

“Alec!” said a voice much louder that time and Alec finally snapped back to reality, shuddering when he re-lived one of his painful memories and he started looking around, trying to figure out where he was. It looked like Magnus’ place, he was sitting on the couch, the cat was sitting in his lap, happily purring and he then looked up, where he saw Magnus standing and the warlock looked very concerned. He had just spent a few moments trying to snap Alec back as he was completely lost in his own thoughts and it was honestly quite creepy. Alec’s eyes were a bit misty, but the demon quickly swallowed and managed to collect himself in a heartbeat, looking up at Magnus again. “Alexander, are you okay?”

Alec blinked a few times and then shook his head. “I-I don’t know,” he muttered and then closed his eyes - his head was killing him, massaging his temples and Magnus pressed his lips together. Alexander didn’t look okay at all and he felt stupid for asking such a question. “My head hurts like a bitch,” he whined and Magnus acted quickly, wanting to make the demon feel at ease and he nodded.

“It’s okay,” said Magnus, sat down next to Alexander and then snapped his fingers, a small bottle of potion appearing in his hands and Alec narrowed his eyes. “This will help the headache,” said Magnus with a wink. “I brewed it myself, so I bet on it - it truly relieves your pain in a matter of seconds. Drink it,” said Magnus and Alec took the bottle. Yep, he was going to be needing it. 

“Thanks,” said Alec and took the bottle with the orange liquid, studying it for a couple of seconds.

“What happened?” asked Magnus, holding in his breath. “Where were you?” he then carried on and he thought that Alec would snap at him again, but he didn’t. Instead, he just opened up the potion and took a big sip of it, closing it up again and he then groaned. “I know that look; it’s when your past catches up to you, it happens to me too from time to time,” said the warlock and then hummed. “The curse of being immortal, I suppose,” said Magnus, trying to make a joke out of it, but Alec didn’t laugh.

“Tell me about it,” said Alec, but then felt a lot better - the potion was starting to work and his pain was slowly disappearing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Magnus softly and Alec shook his head, moaning out and he then leaned back, letting his head rest against the couch and Magnus honestly… wanted to scoop up the demon in his arms and carry him to his bed, where he could have a proper rest. Maybe he’d cuddle up next to him and whisper sweet little nothings into his ear, just to ease his mind a little bit. Magnus knew that he was being ridiculous, but he just wanted to make Alec feel… better.

“Just… not good memories,” said Alec and then sighed. “Very bad memories, low moment of my life,” said Alec and Magnus kept quiet, because that was the first time that Alec actually willingly spoke of his past. It wasn’t much detailed, but this was a huge move in Magnus’ book and he nodded, because he was also filled with bad memories. Too many of them and he wished he could forget so many of them. But then again, they were the ones that made him the man that he was today and he… liked himself. “People betrayed me, I trusted the wrong people and did horrible-”

“It’s okay,” said Magnus and Alec quickly stopped talking. _ It’s okay? _What was okay? Alec perked up and then he just blinked a few times - that was the first time that someone said that it was okay for what he did despite Isabelle. Then again, Magnus didn’t know. Maybe if he did know, he’d change his mind. “We’ve all done stupid things,” said Magnus and shuddered. “Heck, I’ve done terrible things while I trusted the wrong people,” said Magnus and then his stomach turned.

“Like your father?” asked Alec and Magnus flinched when Asmodeus was mentioned.

“Yes, like my father,” said Magnus and then looked down. “And many others - I’ve been taken advantage of, lied to… so many times,” said Magnus and then just shook his head. ‘’So, yes, I know betrayal when I see one and I can tell that you’ve been betrayed in the past by someone that was close to you,’’ said Magnus and even though he was sure that Alexander was going to deny all of it, he continued as the demon said nothing that would stop him, so that was maybe a good sign. Or not, Magnus wasn’t sure, but the last time that Alexander had snapped at him, he also apologised right away and he pressed his lips together, making a bit of a long pause before he spoke again. ‘’Sometimes talking about can help,’’ said Magnus as he was still desperate to get Alec to open up to him. No matter what, he was still sure that Alexander was a good guy, despite it all and he was chewing on his lip, while Alec was thinking. But he didn’t intend on opening up to Magnus, at least not in a complete way. 

‘’Then you must also know that it’s better _ not _ to talk about it,’’ said Alec simply and Magnus pressed his lips together, shaking his head. No, that wasn’t true at all. ‘’Because if you do talk about it, you open up a wound that had long been patched up,’’ said Alec and then clenched his jaw. ‘’And I _ can’t _ remember too much about that time because… I just _ can’t _, Magnus,’’ said Alec softly, but he was actually begging Magnus to stop and the warlock took that as a sign to stop pushing. And he did just that. Instead of walking away, he stayed there next to Alec and the demon just kept silent. 

‘’It’s okay,’’ said Magnus and Alec rolled his eyes, scoffing and he didn’t like how serious the atmosphere had gotten around the two of them, biting on his lip. But he was glad that Magnus didn’t push it too much and in the end, Alec decided to do what he always did - push away his problems and just pretend to be okay - fake it till you make it. And it usually worked. So, instead of dwelling about the past too much, he clasped his hands together and Magnus looked at him. He didn’t know what to expect, so he was quite surprised when Alexander suddenly moved closer to him and he froze for just a little bit.

‘’So annoying,’’ whined Alec and Chairman Meow meowed loudly when he was pushed on the floor. Magnus chuckled when he looked at his cat, but he was more surprised when Alexander suddenly laid down and placed his head on top of his legs, looking up at Magnus, who stopped moving and was confused. ‘’My head still hurts, take care of me,’’ he whined and Magnus pressed his lips together - he noticed how Alec would ramp up his whiny side when things would get too serious for him to handle and a part of him made him wonder if it was just a mask that Alec chose to wear instead of dealing with the things that weighed him down. Then again, who was he to judge him? Magnus, himself, was also more of a … _ fake it till you make it _kind of a guy, so he understood how Alexander rolled and he shook his head. 

‘’Now what?’’ asked Magnus and rolled his eyes.

‘’Your potion sucked, my head still hurts,’’ said Alec and yes, he was lying. Magnus arched an eyebrow, but did nothing to stop Alec, who was now looking pretty pleased with himself. ‘’Look, if you don’t want to make me feel good with your _ body _,’’ said Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes - Alexander never stopped wanting to get into his pants. And usually Magnus would give into it already, but things were a bit more serious now. Though the temptation was getting harder and harder with each day, quite literally so as he was pretty sure that Alexander was tempting him on purpose with his every move. ‘’At least do this,’’ said Alec, took Magnus’ hand and then placed it on top of his head and Magnus arched an eyebrow.

‘’You want me to pet your head?’’ deadpanned Magnus.’’

‘’Don’t you judge me,’’ scowled Alec and Magnus snorted. ‘’And stop laughing. Do as I say - I am a demon and you shall obey me,’’ said Alec and that much was confirmed - this was indeed an act. Sure, Alec was whiny, but this was almost too much. So, instead of whining back, Magnus complied and just gently caressed Alec’s head, who smiled, crossed his arms on top of his chest and allowed the warlock to please him to his heart’s content. Though he’d much have those slender and long fingers-

‘’Feeling good?’’ asked Magnus as he could hear Alec’s soft moans of comfort. And they weren’t helping at all with the sinful temptation that Alexander brought and he looked away.

‘’Very good, warlock, you’ve got quite the magical touch,’’ said Alec and cracked his eyes open again and Magnus rolled his eyes. 

‘’Of course, I’m a warlo-’’

‘’Don’t ruin the moment by running your mouth,’’ said Alec and Magnus stopped talking as his eyes rather dropped down on Alec’s gorgeous face and he swallowed thickly, because Alexander was beautiful, there was no denying in that. There was a piece of him that was screaming to let go off the self-control and just indulge the moment, to take the temptation that Alexander had been offering to him for weeks now and it was getting harder to resist, eyes now on Alec’s full lips and his body shuddered as he imagined those lips pressed up against his, falling down on his neck and- Magnus’ breath shook and he could see that Alec had his usual sly smirk on his face, making Magnus want to pull back, but Alec’s hands made him stay there. ‘’Just where do you think you’re going?’’ asked the demon.

‘’I think you’re feeling better-’’

‘’For sure, but do you really want to leave?’’ asked Alec and Magnus withdrew his hand. ‘’I can feel just how hard you’re trying to resist _ it _ , warlock. The temptation is killing you,’’ he whispered, more sinful words rolling off his tongue and Magnus was eating everything right up, his throat dry and his heart was beating fast as he kept just staring down. ‘’Just tell me - why fight it? You could have all of _ me _ , I’d give you anything. Make your deepest, darkest and _ filthiest _ wishes come true. You wouldn’t have to hold back with me,’’ purred Alec and leaned up a little bit.

‘’Alexander, stop-’’

‘’Stop?’’ asked Alec and then chuckled. ‘’Sure I could stop,’’ said Alec. ‘’Or I could tell you what’s going through my mind right now,’’ he said and his demon eyes were out now, glamour off and Magnus’ cat eyes lit up, golden orbs piercing into black ones and Magnus swallowed thickly. He wanted to say _ no _, but what came out instead was,

‘’Tell me.’’

‘’Good boy,’’ said Alec and grinned, slowly sat back up and then hummed. ‘’Your lips upon mine,’’ said Alec and Magnus took in a hitched breath. ‘’Yours, soft… mine tough, moving against each other, just perfect for each other,’’ said Alec and hummed. ‘’Kisses are intoxicating both of us,’’ he said and Magnus shuddered - fuck, he wondered just how kissing Alexander would feel like. It would be probably as the demon described it _ and _ more. So much more.

‘’And-and my hands?’’

Alec grinned. ‘’On my chest,’’ said Alec. ‘’Mine, lifting your shirt up,’’ he carried on. ‘’Your breath is hard and uneven, heart beating nice and hard against your chest, my lips upon it, kissing down,’’ said Alec and Magnus pressed his legs together, desperate to hide just how much he was enjoying Alexander’s temptation. Their conversation had completely changed, just a moment ago Alexander was struggling and now he was… Magnus cursed and Alec grinned. ‘’Oh,’’ said Alec, happily. ‘’Should I get on my knees and take care of that?’’

‘’Alexander, don’t you dare to make a joke out of-’’

‘’I’m not joking,’’ said Alec and scooted closer to Magnus. ‘’I want you, _ fuck _, that I do,’’ he said. ‘’I’ve wanted you ever since I’ve first laid my eyes upon you,’’ he said and Magnus could feel his breath against his lips and he pressed his lips together. Alexander was the devil alright and Magnus closed his eyes for a split second, but he soon looked up at Alexander again. ‘’And you want me,’’ said Alec as if it was a statement and Magnus shook his head.

‘’I don’t.’’

‘’You want me,’’ said Alec again and didn’t really waver. ‘’I know… I _ feel _ your lust, your arousal,’’ he said, inching his face closer and chuckled. ‘’I’m a demon, I know lust when I see it and you, oh, you’re lusting after me, my touch… my kiss,’’ he said and then grinned, Magnus biting upon his lower lip and he didn’t like how not in control he was. Alexander was in control, completely and utterly shaking Magnus up. And he wasn’t used to it. ‘’I know how hard you get, those extra minutes in the shower, while I’m on your mind and-’’

Magnus’ head was spinning - how did Alexander know that?! Did he spy on him in the bathroom? It was embarrassing how right Alexander was about _ everything. _ He gulped again and he didn’t like how hot his body was feeling. He had his hands on top of his thighs, his fingers digging into the jeans as he was trying to think about something else than Alexander on his knees getting him off. It was a sight he’d _ love _ to see and that was exactly what was bothering him. But Alec didn’t allow him to think about anything else and he cursed under his breath. 

‘’Are you fucking spying on-’’

‘’I don’t have to,’’ said Alec and chuckled. ‘’As a _ demon _ I get the perk of having a bit of a heightened hearing and I can hear you through the running water, you know,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ face was even redder now. ‘’You calling out to me, over and over,’’ said Alec. ‘’I can make that true, Magnus, all you have to do is say yes, you know that already, don’t you?’’ asked Alec and then dragged his teeth over his sinful lip and Magnus was again cursing under his breath.

Magnus was totally a goner - he couldn’t focus on anything else than Alexander. Alexander wanting him, Alexander offering himself to him… all of that made Magnus’ lust grow and he couldn’t deny his hunger anymore. Just for a split second he managed to lose that self control and in the heap of the moment, his mind stopped working. He found himself leaning in, a victorious grin on Alec’s face as he knew that he finally won the warlock over; he could resist him no more.

Magnus was breathing fast, his head was spinning as he took in a deep breath and looked into Alexander’s hazel eyes. Pity, he wanted his demon eyes again, those eyes that looked at him as he was a prey. He wanted to be eaten by Alexander, no matter how stupid it sounded and he melted right up against the demon, grabbing him by the back of his neck and crushed their lips together, Alexander taken by surprise when he felt the warlock suddenly kissing him, but he wasn’t going to back out from a kiss that he had been yearning for weeks now.

Alec’s lips tasted sweeter than honey, making Magnus crave for more as they just felt perfect pressing up against his. It was just like Alexander said - their kiss was intoxicating, making Magnus drunk and before he was able to register what was happening again, he was kissing the demon again, gripping him by the collar of his shirt and Alec happily groaned when he felt Magnus’ tongue on his lower lip, tasting, exploring… _ wanting. _Alec happily accepted him in, feeling Magnus’ tongue brushing against his and Magnus’ eyes fluttered shut as he allowed Alexander to gently push him down on the couch.

Magnus was dying to feel Alec’s hands all over him, was wanting Alexander to undress him, turn him over and fuck him senseless right against that couch. But it was more than that. It wasn’t just lust that he felt for Alexander, was what Magnus figured out. His feelings were more than that and he was surprised.

His own lust and feelings for Alexander scared him and it was that exact thing that snapped him back to reality. Just as Alec was going in for another kiss, Magnus pushed him back lightly and quickly stood up, Alec confused and he didn’t get what happened - Magnus stopped?! He looked up and Magnus stood there, dishevelled, lips slightly swollen from the kissing and he was shaking, his fingers in his hair and he was shaking his head - what was he thinking? Just what was he doing getting involved with a _ demon _ and he-

‘’Magnus?’’

‘’I-I-’’ stammered Magnus and wiped his lips. ‘’I… _ no _,’’ he said and Alec frowned. He did not understand. Magnus wanted he and he wanted Magnus - what was the problem. ‘’This… can’t happen,’’ stammered Magnus. ‘’It was a mistake,’’ said Magnus and started back paddling. 

‘’A mistake?’’ asked Alec and snorted. ‘’It seemed you were really into it and-’’

‘’Exactly why it can’t happen,’’ said Magnus and shook his head. ‘’I… this didn’t happen,’’ said Magnus as his heart was beating hard. ‘’I… I need to go… I… I’ll see you later.’’ 

And just like that, Magnus portalled himself out of the loft. Alec was sitting there, pouting, but then a little grin spread across his face - something told him that this was going to happen again. Magnus could pretend for now that it never happened, but… Alexander _ knew _and he grinned. If Magnus wanted to play cats and mice, then so be it - but eventually Alec was going to catch Magnus. 


	7. Chapter 7

“And then I just left,” whined Magnus, shaking his head and he then looked towards his friend, Catarina, who was just taking everything in. After the kiss, Magnus portalled himself straight over to his friend’s place because he knew that she would give him some good advice - Catarina usually knew what to say to make him feel better, but this time she was only keeping to herself and was nodding, shaking her head and then again nodding. She had quite the concerned expression on her face and that didn’t mean anything good - yeah, it was a foolish thing that he did, allowing the demon to use his magic on him to lure him in with temptation. 

Alexander had to be using magic back then because what he felt, something drawing him closer to him, he had never felt it before. That kind of attraction couldn’t be natural and he pressed his lips together. But Alec wouldn’t use such dirty tricks to get… but then again he was a demon after all and Magnus shuddered. Why did he always have to fall for someone that it was clear for the getgo that it wouldn’t work out?! This was just a heartbreak waiting to happen and he needed to put an end to it before he would sink any deeper than he already had. But now that he had a bite of forbidden fruit, Alexander, he craved for more and he cursed his under his breath. Yes, Alexander had to curse him alright, even though he didn’t see or feel any magic at the time. He was a demon, so maybe he was using it the way Magnus couldn’t feel it and he bit into his lip. 

“Magnus, you’re playing with fire here,” said Catarina, who had noticed a long time ago that her friend fancied the demon. That was why he trusted him as well. It was that day that they were flirting in the middle of the battle - that was when Catarina noticed that Magnus wasn’t only playing around and that he was pretty serious about Alec. At least his feelings were and Catarina only wanted her friend to be happy. But he didn’t know just how happy he could be with Alexander. Sure, now there were sparks and lust, but that would eventually fizzled out. Concerned that it was all just a game for Alec, Catarina didn’t want to see Magnus heartbroken again. It took him decades to put himself back together after Camille and she then pressed her lips together.

“I know,” said Magnus and then ran his fingers through his hair. “But, the way I feel for him, Cat, it’s just so intense,” said Magnus and shuddered. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone,” he carried on and then made a little pause. “And-and it scares me. I was able to keep it together until now, but I just snapped then and… kissed him,” said Magnus, shuddering. He could still felt Alexander’s hot lips pressed against his and he skimmed his fingers over his lip and shook his head. “Kissing him felt so right, Cat, just so… right,” he said and bit into his lip. “What am I supposed to do now? Where do I go from here?”

“I honestly don’t know, Magnus,” said Catarina and Magnus groaned, leaning back in his chair and he then just sighed sadly, feeling sorry for himself. “If I were you, I wouldn’t risk it,” said Catarina and Magnus arched an eyebrow. “Stick to the plan, Magnus. Defeat Lilith, that’s the main goal why we summoned him here, don’t forget that,” she said and Magnus nodded. Yes, he knew that and he then looked down. “Look, I know you’re feeling sad, but maybe not diving right into it is the right thing, you should really think this through,” said Catarina and Magnus nodded again. Yes, he knew that his friend was right, but living with Alec after this was going to be hell. And awkward, biting into his lip and he just sighed again.

“I know, first we defeat Lilith, then I’ll see what to do,” said Magnus and then made up his mind. Until then, Alec was only his friend and he then made a little pause. “But he’ll never let me forget this, he’ll make my life a living hell,” he groaned and then rolled his eyes because he could already picture Alexander never putting an end to the flirting now. He wrinkled his nose and made Catarina snort. “How about if I stay over at your place?” asked Magnus and Catarina started laughing even louder. Sure, she wouldn’t mind, but someone would miss him too much if he would suddenly stop coming back to his loft and Catarina was then holding back her laughter.

“You know I wouldn’t mind, but,” said Catarin and Magnus cocked his head to the side. There was a  _ but _ ?! “Don’t you think your demon  _ boyfriend _ would miss you though?” asked Catarina and then winked. Magnus’ jaw dropped - Cat was right! If he would leave Alexander alone in his place he didn’t know what would happen. It was bad enough that Isabelle was free to roam the city, so he couldn’t risk Alexander getting out of hands as well and even though he hated the idea of living together with Alec again, there was nothing that he could do. Alec was his responsibility, so Magnus would just have to grit his teeth and just do it, no matter how much he hated it. 

“Ugh, I hate it when you’re this right,” whined Magnus again and then just hid his face into his palms, shuddering. Yep, this was going to suck so much and he then was biting on his lip because he was tempted to just  _ un _ summon Alec and he then grumbled, quite pissed off, but this was a mess that he had gotten himself into it so he would have to deal with it and he finally accepted his doom. “You know, I hope I get a fucking golden medal from the Clave after all of this over; I’m taking a huge load for the team,” he grumbled and Catarina laughed.

“Now, now, you’ve had a lot more annoying roommates. Jace was staying with you for a little while, wasn’t he?” asked Catarin and Magnus shuddered - that was a really dark part of his life and he just put a finger up.

“We shall not speak of that ever again,” said Magnus and shook his head. Nope, that chapter of his life was over, thank god, and now was sealed and shall not be reopened again.

* * *

Upon Magnus’ arrival back to his loft, he didn’t know how to really face Alec. But much to his luck, Alec didn’t really jump him from any corner, which was a huge relief, feeling his racing heart calming down a little bit. But then when he thought about it for the second time, he was getting kind of suspicious - it was really quiet in the loft, Alexander was nowhere to be seen and he thought that maybe the demon headed out on his own, which wouldn’t be a very good idea. That was until he heard running water from his bathroom and he felt his heart leaping to his throat, because  _ Alexander was using his bathroom and was taking a shower -  _ which meant that he was naked in there and Magnus shuddered; yep, he definitely needed to get laid because this was getting a bit insane, biting into his lip and then he slowly came closer to the bathroom and took in a deep breath.

Despite being a demon, Alexander enjoyed taking  _ long _ showers and would usually shamelessly just use up all of Magnus’ shampoos. The warlock tried telling him that he didn’t need to use up a whole bottle of it, but well… Alec was too stubborn about it and in the end, Magnus only gave up on trying to talk some sense into the stubborn demon. It was useless and he then just shook his head. But, Alec claimed that he liked the smell of sandalwood, which was also Magnus’ favourite smell. But, of course he wasn’t going to tell Alec that anytime soon as the demon would use that against him, he just knew it and he felt his cheeks reddening a little bit.

Usually, Magnus stayed away from the bathroom when Alec was inside - somehow he always managed to make a complete flood in there and Magnus shook his head. But this time, it was different. The fact that Alec was probably using up all of his product and that he had made his bathroom into his personal swimming pool didn’t even cross Magnus’ mind. And if he did, he didn’t care about it. What registered his mind, though, was the fact that Alexander was there in his bathroom  _ naked.  _ Magnus shuddered and he then pressed his lips together -. he hadn’t seen the demon naked before, but  _ fuck _ he wanted to and he ignored the rational part of his mind and did something very stupid: the door was only half closed and Magnus couldn’t really resist the opportunity, taking a little peek inside. 

Magnus knew that he needed to get a better control over himself, because what he was doing was really shameless - spying on Alexander like that. But then again, Alec spied on him in the shower as well. Sure he could blame his  _ heightened hearing _ or whatever, but he chose to listen to him and Magnus felt his cheeks reddening just a little bit. Still, unable to tear his gaze away, he tried to make himself as quiet as possible as he finally gazed upon Alexander, who was wearing a towel around his waist, but his broad back was naked indeed and  _ wet.  _ Magnus bit his lip and suppressed a moan as he kept his eyes on Alexander  _ because fuck.  _

However, upon taking a closer look at the demon, it didn’t seem like he was in a very good mood. It looked like he was studying his chest in the large mirror that Magnus had in there and he had a painful expression on his face, making Magnus wonder - what did he see that he didn’t like? Because of Magnus, he was  _ perfect.  _ Every centimetre of skin was carved out of marble, his muscles visible and yummy. But it didn’t really take Magnus long before he finally snapped out of his initial state and he managed to see beyond that. He could see only Alexander’s back, but it was full of… old burn marks, scars that didn’t disappear and Magnus could only imagine what happened to Alexander down in Edom. It didn’t look pretty and he swallowed thickly, looking up and down again. 

Alec slowly turned around and there were more scars on his chest and Magnus looked down, biting his lip because he couldn’t even imagine what Alec was through in his life. It was a lot and Magnus’ heart was literally breaking. His mood suddenly changed as well and he sighed sadly. Edom was a cruel place, Magnus was able to experience it firsthand and he then just shook his head. It was good that Alec was out of there now. Whatever it was, someone like Alexander didn’t deserve this and he wondered if Isabelle had also been hurt. Probably, Edom never really cared. 

Alec was getting dressed just then, looking for his shirt and as he leaned over, he came really close to the door. Magnus jumped and quickly hid behind the door, but Alec came close enough for Magnus to see something on his arm. At first glance it looked like a scar, but it wasn’t just any kind of scar, because scars didn’t really have  _ shapes _ , did they? Magnus couldn’t really tell, because he took just a quick glance, but it looked like an angelic rune. It had its shape and Magnus’ heart was beating much faster.

He had so many questions, yet he wasn’t going to ask any because it was personal - too personal and he covered his mouth a little bit because Alexander was now coming closer to the door. But despite Magnus trying to get away in right time, he could hear Alexander’s low chuckle; Alexander knew that he was watching him for the entire time and Magnus’ heart was about to give out. “Join me in here next time instead of just watching will you?” hollered Alec after Magnus and the warlock only closed himself into his office.  _ He just kept fucking things up more and more it seemed! _

* * *

“I understand that we’re all going in pairs, but why do I have to go with him?” asked Alec and felt completely betrayed by everyone in the room and he kept bitching on and on about it. He, Isabelle, Magnus and Jace were going to scout out a place that seemed suspicious - a lot of demonic activities seemed to be happening in there. And lately a lot of Mundanes have started to go missing, all last seen around that place. But what Alec didn’t understand was why  _ Jace _ was coming along with them. It could easily be just the three of them, but  _ no _ \- he had to be there to ruin the fun. And why couldn’t Alec go with Magnus if they had to be in pairs?! The demon wasn’t amused at all, sitting on the couch and was hissing. If he could, he’d bite someone, he was that pissed off. 

Magnus tried to laugh it off, but there was a good reason why he paired Alec up with Jace - each pair needed a demon because they could easily sense Lilith. Not only that, but since both of the Lightwood siblings were very strong as they  _ were _ the Greater Demons, it balanced out the group; made them stronger. And the reason why Magnus didn’t want to be paired up with Alec? That was a very reason explanation as well - Magnus couldn’t focus with Alexander around. He couldn’t… he just didn’t want to be alone with him, so since the last week - when they kissed - he had been avoiding him and it was pissing Alec the hell off because he knew what the warlock was doing and his bad mood had been off the charts as of late.

“You and Jace will be stronger that way,” said Magnus, trying to make Alec buy it, but it wasn’t working - how could it? Jace was trying to reason with the Clave, but he didn’t have very much success, so now he was trying to make it up to both Magnus and Alec for bailing on them the last time. He wanted to make it up especially to Alec since he did save his life, so he saw this as a perfect opportunity to show Alec his gratitude despite him being a demon. Jace had moved past that, but Alec didn’t move past the fact that Jace was a Shadowhunter. 

“I doubt he’ll be stronger if I snap his neck and cut him in half, then set him on fire and-”

“Alec,  _ breathe _ ,” said Isabelle and stepped next to her brother. The Shadowhunter looked quite frightened and that made her smile -  _ good, as it should have.  _ “Magnus says it’s a good idea, so we’ll do as he says,” said Isabelle, but then glared at Jace. “I don’t like it either, you know,” she said and then looked at Magnus. “But maybe it’ll give me an opportunity to butter Magnus up to you,” said Isabelle and as soon as his sister said that, Alec perked up and was prepared to cooperate.

“Tell me your plan, sis,” said Alec and Isabelle dragged him away so that they couldn’t be heard talking.

“Well, you mentioned that he had been avoiding you ever since you two made out,” said Isabelle and Alec grinned - that was a good day indeed. “Well, I’ll just tell him how amazing you are and how much you… like him,” said Isabelle. “And that you’re a good and protective person,” she carried on and then winked. Alec contemplated and then he glanced at Magnus, who looked away when their eyes locked and then he nodded, shaking Isabelle’s hand.

“Deal,” said Alec. “Also tell him about my big-”

“Bow and quiver?” jumped Isabelle in when the other two were coming closer and Alec sighed, but then nodded.  _ Sure, yes, whatever.  _ Isabelle better did a good a job because if not… Jace over there was going to be-

“Okay,” said Alec. “I’m prepared to work with the Shadowhunter,” said Alec painfully slowly and Jace cheered up.  _ Ugh.  _ Alec then looked at Magnus and then stepped closer to him. “Is a pity though, we make quite the pair and-”

“Okay, let’s get going,” said Magnus and quickly stepped past Alec, who stuck out his tongue, but then followed him. Magnus snapped his fingers and then created a portal to the place they would be looking into. Magnus was the one who stepped in the portal first and Jace wanted to go second, but Alec yanked his hand and made him stumble back.

“Um, did I-”

“Isabelle goes second, I go third and you, Shadowhunter, you go last,” said Alec and then smiled happily as he stepped into the portal  _ before _ the bleached idiot. It was a small and petty win, but a win was still a win.

* * *

“Can you, like, sense her?” asked Jace, who wouldn’t stop talking. Alec’s patience was running thin as it was and the other couldn’t take a hint as he kept yapping away. When Jace was nervous he had the tendency to run his mouth and Alec was just finding that out. What an unattractive personality trait, he thought, but did nothing. If he played his cards right, he would get to show Magnus that he  _ could _ work with the Shadowhunters, despite every centimetre of his body resenting that single idea. There was still the idea of killing Jace off and then blaming Lilith for his death, but he then shook his head. Magnus would get sad and a sad Magnus was a no, no. So, Alec decided to suffer, gritting his teeth and he glared at Jace.

“Will you shut up? Even the vampire doesn’t run his mouth like you do,” said Alec, remembering Simon and he then shuddered. “Just shut the fuck up and stick to the plan. It’s pretty simple or your little brain can’t handle that much information?” asked Alec and then scoffed, making Jace tense up a little bit. Alec wasn’t the only who whose ego was inflated beyond belief, so it was hard for Jace not to jump his throat.

“Ha-ha, funny. You like roasting me, huh?”

“Oh, believe me nothing would bring me more pleasure than setting you on fire right now, so don’t test me,” said Alec, who didn’t really understand the contemporary slang. Nor did he care, actually. 

“You have a really dark sense of humour, don’t you?” asked Jace and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Did you know that Isabelle actually broke into the Institute with the sheer plan of kidnapping you, so that she could bring you to me. The plan was to torture you,” said Alec and Jace shuddered. “My sis is the best - it was going to be her gift to me for getting her out of Edom. Remember, the time you bailed on Magnus? Even though I saved your life,” said Alec, crossing his arms on top of his chest. “So you trying to kiss up to me isn’t going to work, you bleached douche. Just keep yourself quiet and you’ll both do us a favour.”

Jace pressed his lips together and looked down, but kept grumbling under his breath. “I’m sorry,” said Jace and then ran up to Alec. “I was a dick, okay? But I… never worked with a demon, so I got a bit… freaked. But I’m back now and-”

“Well, good for you. Do you want me to give you a medal or something?”

“Gee, you don’t have to be so sarcastic.”

“Sarcasm is the only language I speak, so suck it,” said Alec and Jace rolled his eyes. He wanted to say something back, but suddenly there were heard muffled screams and both of them stopped bickering and they both perked up. Alec wanted to go forward and rescue the victims, but Jace grabbed his hand and Alec yanked him away quickly. “What the fuck?!”

“Could be a trap, no?” whispered Jace and Alec narrowed his eyes,  _ detesting _ how right Jace was. In the end he nodded and instead of rushing into it, listened to Jace. They came closer to the door, Alec trying not to snap at Jace for breathing down his neck. They peeked inside of the room and saw four young men tied up in the middle of the room, sturggling to break free. All of them were Mundane, used like a bait and Alec recognised all of them - they were all of the missing victims. “It’s a trap.”

“Yeah what else is supposed to be if they’re presented like that in the middle of the room, huh?” asked Alec and rolled his eyes. 

They approached the matter carefully, but as they’ve gotten closer to the victims, demons suddenly jumped in front of them. Not hesitating one bit, Alec swiftly avoided all of them and ran up to the young men, quickly untied them and then created a portal oof safety, quickly pushing all of them through it and he smiled - Magnus was going to be impressed. The portal led Clary and the others. Alec smiled and then straightened his clothes - piece of cake. He turned around and saw that Jace wasn’t in a such a hot position as he was struggling to keep a demon from sinking its fangs into his throat. Alec grumbled - Magnus wasn’t going to be so impressed if something happened to Jace, so Alec  _ helped again.  _

Alec blasted the demon into oblivion with his magic and Jace quickly looked up, breathing fast and he felt relieved. Alec could have left him. “Well, do get up,” said Alec and Jace nodded, picking himself off the ground, groaning because he was filthy with demon guts and blood and… Alec made the demon explore over him  _ on purpose.  _ “I don’t even get a thank-”

“Behind you,” said Jace as a demon was coming closer to Alec and didn’t hesitate throwing his Seraph blade at it, the demon screeching in pain and falling on the floor. “Ugh, more keep on coming,” whined Jace and Alec nodded, but grinned - this was going to be a good fun. 

“Scared of these harmless little demons, little hunter?”

“Yeah right,” shot Jace back and then stepped with his back against Alec, who wanted to move away, but he soon realised  _ why -  _ they were surrounded by a swarm of demons. “You take the ones on your left and I’ll take the ones on your right side?” asked Jace and a playful grin was on his face. Alec surprised himself and smiled back.

“Now we’re talking - let’s keep score to who can kill more of them,” suggested Alec and Jace grinned.

“You’re gonna lose.”

“Yeah, you wish, Blondie,” shot back Alec.

Instead of magic, Alec picked a more hand on hand approach, using his fists and his legs. Jace learned that for a demon, Alec’s way of fighting reminded him a lot of a Shadowhunter. He used all of the basic moves that Jace was taught as a younger hunter, so it was interesting. It was fun for Alec hearing the demon bones cracking under his fingers, snapping a Shax demon neck and then he made sure the fucker was dead with his magic, looking at Jace, who was keeping up the good fight.

A demon hit Jace’s hand and his Seraph blade went flying from his hand, landing not too far from Alec, who didn’t hesitate to pick it up and Jace’s jaw dropped when he saw it lighting up in a weird, dark orange colour. That made Jace distract so much that he didn’t pay attention to the demon. Alec luckily was and he rammed the blade right into the demon’s chest and thus killed it, breathing fast and uneven. Alec handed the blade to Jace, who was in awe. “That was-”

“You saw nothing.”

“Amazing,” said Jace. “Your fighting skills are no joke,” he said, sliding past the blade thing as it was obvious that Alec didn’t wish to speak about it and he didn’t want to test him further. Alec narrowed his eyes - a compliment?! He narrowed his eyes. 

“I am pretty great,” said Alec and then hummed. 

“If you want, I could train you hand-to-hand combat and-”

“Don’t push it,” said Alec, but… he smiled. Why? No idea. He hated it. “We’re done here, let’s meet up with Isabelle and Magnus,” he then said and then just left. Jace sighed, but then grinned. Alec didn’t try to kill him, which was  _ big _ .He hurried after him and both were met by the other two in the back, Isabelle and Magnus. Alec quickly came closer to Magnus, excited to report that their end of the mission was a success.

"All okay?" asked Magnus.

"Yes. Four Mundanes, I created a portal and send them to Clary," said Alec and Magnus was pleased to hear that.

"Same here, saved two. And I see that you didn't kill Jace," said Magnus and nodded. "Good, it's progress and-"

"How about a kiss as a reward?"

"Maybe some other time," said Magnus playfully and Alec frowned.

"But… Izzy, you promised," whined Alec and glared at his sister. "What do you mean it didn't work? Did you tell him about my big-"

"Okay, let's go back on track," meddled Jace in and Alec grumbled, but kept eyeing Magnus, who seemed flustered a bit. So Isabelle did  _ tell _ Magnus things and he rubbed his palms together.  _ Yes. _


	8. Chapter 8

‘’Ugh, I don’t understand why Magnus didn’t crack already,’’ whined Alec. He had been hanging out with his sister in the Central park at the moment and was just being his whiny self, mainly because of Magnus, who was still avoiding him. Not as much as before, but still - things weren’t the same as they were before  _ the kiss _ , making Alec grin a little bit. He could tell that Magnus liked the kiss a lot - why wouldn’t he? He was a freaking good kisser and he went back to wondering why Magnus didn’t like him. Maybe it was because he was a demon after all, which pissed Alec off. He thought that Magnus of all people would be more understanding as he also knew how it felt to be misunderstood. Isabelle grinned and then leaned back against the bench, but Alec didn’t seem too happy about his sister smiling at such a serious moment.

‘’Yeah, the warlock seems to be putting up quite the fight,’’ said the younger Lightwood and Alec clicked with his tongue. Maybe Isabelle wasn’t too convincing that time when she was telling Magnus about him. He didn’t even ask her what she told him, but he knew that he should trust her. Still, it made him wonder - but for Isabelle to not be convincing? Isabelle was one of the most convincing people that he knew, especially when she wanted to be. Just what was up with Magnus?! He was being way too coy and distant and the demon didn’t like it. He had somehow accustomed to being close with someone else than Isabelle and now he missed  _ that.  _ Just having a friend, if you could say so, huffing under his breath. Did he ruin their friendship by kissing Magnus?! But it was the warlock who kissed him first and- Alec had so many questions and he didn’t like feeling like this.

‘’Are you sure that you told him everything?’’ asked Alec and Isabelle nodded, Alec narrowing his eyes. ‘’Tell me, exactly what did you tell Magnus?’’ he then asked, because he wanted to know. ‘’And I want to know what his reactions were,’’ he carried on and Isabelle started grinning. Magnus’ reaction were quite something, yeah, even if they were on a rescue mission, he couldn’t concentrate at all at first. Then, he somehow managed to regain his posture and Isabelle only chuckled. She didn’t know why Alec worried so much - the warlock liked him as much back as Alec liked him. 

‘’I told him that  _ this _ , your whiny self is just a big play you put on,’’ said Isabelle and Alec’s jaw dropped -  _ she did what now?!  _ Alec perked up and clenched his jaw because that wasn’t what he wanted Izzy to tell Magnus. Magnus needed to think that he was badass and  _ hot _ , not… Alec felt chills going up his spine - what else did she tell him?! ‘’And that in reality you’re just a big misunderstood softie,’’ she said and Alec’s jaw hit the floor, because now it all made sense why Magnus started avoiding him. He thought that he was giant mush, which wasn’t true at all, anger bubbling up and Alec went closer to her.

‘’You told him that?!’’ Alec shrieked. 

Isabelle grinned. ‘’Tell me, dear brother, was I wrong though?’’ she asked and Alec nodded, because  _ yes, the fuck she was wrong.  _ Alec wasn’t nice, he was anything  _ but _ nice and she made him sound like a freaking saint, which he wasn’t. At. All. And now Magnus would never look at him the same way and Alec whined. ‘’Oh, come on, you and I both know that deep inside you’re still  _ you _ ,’’ said Isabelle and gave Alec a little smile, scooting closer to him and she then placed her hands on top of his. Alec shuddered because he didn’t like where she was going with that. No, he wasn’t the same, he had changed a long time ago. ‘’Alec, don’t-’’

‘’I’m nothing like I used to be,’’ said Alec and his voice was suddenly cold and very deep. Isabelle sighed, because she knew how he was feeling - she felt the same, all these centuries that they’ve spent in Edom had changed them. Both of them, for the worst, but, still… there were parts of them that were still the same. Alec’s heart might had darkened, but- ‘’I don’t understand why does everyone want to paint me as this  _ good _ person, when I’m not,’’ said Alec. He didn’t sound angry, he was just disappointed because he couldn’t be what people wanted him to be. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, he was still all in all a  _ demon  _ and that couldn’t be changed. 

‘’No, what I don’t understand is why you want to paint yourself as this mean and evil demon in front of others,’’ mumbled Isabelle and got really real with her brother, who eyed her and then shook his head, trying to pretend that he didn’t know what she was talking about. But he did, deep inside he knew that he was being mean on purpose, just so that he could appear like a demon. It was easier being hated on than being loved, Alec was sure of that because in the past being loved only brought pain. Alec puffed his cheeks and then just tried to shrug it off. ‘’No, you don’t get to shrug it off, Alec, I’m being serious right here,’’ said Isabelle. ‘’I mean I suppose I do the same, but,’’ she said and made a little pause. ‘’But you’re still the Alec that taught me how to fight,’’ said Isabelle happily and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. Alec stiffened, he  _ really  _ didn’t like where this was leading to.

‘’Iz, don’t-’’

‘’And you’re still the same older brother who protected me when my first boyfriend broke my heart,’’ she said and smiled, giggling softly. ‘’Can you remember, you were sixteen and I was fourteen, you chased him around our house with your bow and quiver,’’ she said and giggled, Alec not wanting to remember because it was too painful, but in the end he let the memories consume him and he only grinned, chuckling because he could remember it all too well. 

‘’Oh, I sure showed him,’’ said Alec happily and Isabelle chuckled.

‘’That you did,’’ said Isabelle and then placed her head on top of Alec’s shoulder, Alec biting into his lip. ‘’But can you see what I’m trying to tell you?’’ asked Isabelle and Alec shook his head, being stubborn and the younger one rolled her eyes. ‘’Look, you might wanna pretend in front of others, but I know you well enough,’’ said Isabelle and then made a little pause. ‘’Your feelings for Magnus,’’ she said and Alec stiffened. ‘’It’s not you just wanting to have a little bit of fun with him, is it?’’ she asked and Alec shook his head.

‘’It’s all it is, I just want to have-’’

‘’You’re beginning to fall for him,’’ said Isabelle happily and Alec’s eyes darkened, glamour came down, but that didn’t scare Isabelle off. ‘’That’s good, I wasn’t sure that you’d ever love someone in that way again after what happened,’’ she said because she was happy to see her brother experience love again, but Alec was having none of it as he  _ wasn’t _ falling in love. He couldn’t be as he swore that he would never fall in love again. 

‘’I’m not in love,’’ said Alec angrily. ‘’I’m not gonna fall in love ever again,’’ said Alec and then clenched his jaw. ‘’Look how much it cost me the last time,’’ he said and then went completely quiet, Isabelle shaking her head because she knew that Alec still blamed only himself for what happened  _ then _ . He blamed for what happened to Isabelle and she wished she wouldn’t, because he couldn’t have known that  _ he  _ would betray him like that and she placed her hand on top of his shoulder, Alec looking at her and he then sighed sadly. 

‘’You can’t keep on blaming yourself, you know,’’ she muttered and Alec nodded.

‘’Yes I can,’’ said Alec. ‘’It’s my fault and nobody else’s. I was too stupid and blind to ignore all of the red flags about him,’’ said Alec and then shook his head. ‘’All of the years that dad tried to keep our secret from the others went down the drain just like that,’’ said Alec and then bit his lower lip. ‘’Just because I was too stupid to realise that he was leading me on and using me against-’’

‘’Alec, you  _ can’t _ keep doing this to yourself, can’t you see that you’re torturing yourself?’’

‘’I know and honestly, it’s what I deserve,’’ said Alec. ‘’And I’ll never forgive myself for what you had to go through. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t-’’

‘’ _ No, _ that is on the Clave,’’ said Isabelle and shook her head. ‘’I stood with you because I chose you, they wanted to turn me against you, for me to go against you in the Court and I couldn’t,’’ said Isabelle, shaking her head. ‘’I was rather banished to Edom as well than to betray you, brother,’’ she said and then crossed her arms on top of her chest when she saw the face Alec was making. Alec understood all of that too well - if tables were reversed, he’d stay by Isabelle’s side no matter what as well. But still, he wished that it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did and he was silent. ‘’If I was faced to make that decision again, I wouldn’t have changed a thing,’’ said Izzy. ‘’Can’t you get it through that thick skull of yours that I love you, ugh,’’ she said and then grinned when Alec finally cracked a little smile and then just nodded. Yep, it felt good to know that Isabelle had his back no matter what. 

‘’Thank you for standing by me,’’ said Alec softly and Isabelle grinned.

‘’Yeah,’’ said Isabelle. ‘’Now stop being such a pain in the ass and tell Magnus you’re actually serious about him,’’ said Izzy. ‘’That’s why he doesn’t want to open up to you - he thinks that you’re just playing,’’ she said and Alec huffed.

‘’He’s playing hard to get,’’ said Alec and shook his head. ‘’And you do know how much I like a challenge. I’ll make him mine sooner or later,’’ he said and his demon eyes disappeared, warmth in his hazel eyes consuming as he continued to think and talk about the warlock.  _ Yeah, totally not falling in love with him, right, _ thought Isabelle and snorted. ‘’So, how did he react when you told him how  _ soft _ I am then,’’ said Alec and Isabelle chuckled.

‘’Oh, he smiled,’’ said Isabelle. ‘’Don’t worry, I talked about your  _ other _ attributes as well,’’ she carried on and Alec seemed a lot more confident then. ‘’I told him all about your impressive… bow and quiver,’’ she said and Alec grinned -  _ now they were talking.  _

‘’You did?’’ he asked happily and Isabelle snorted. ‘’How did he react? I bet he was flustered.’’

‘’He tripped over his own feet,’’ said Isabelle and grinned. ‘’And when I mentioned your  _ reputation _ he almost ran into a wall,’’ she carried on, smirking. ‘’And that’s where I stopped because we were on a mission and I needed to be professional,’’ she said. ‘’Plus I couldn’t really help myself if I had a wounded warlock next to me, it was for his own safety, believe me,’’ she said and winked. Now Alec looked  _ really _ pleased with himself and he nodded.

‘’You’re like the best sister ever, Iz,’’ said Alec and then hummed. ‘’So, you say I should show more  _ feelings _ to him?’’ he asked and then shuddered. Ugh, feelings. But he did show them! He showed that he cared for Magnus. Maybe he needed a verbal confirmation?! Hmm, there were so many things to figure out, warlock made him work up quite the sweat to only get his attention and Alec…  _ liked _ that.

* * *

"So, I've heard that Isabelle told you many things about me," said Alec happily and Magnus clenched his jaw and then huffed under his breath. Now it really wasn't the time or the place for them to be discussing how amazing Alexander was again and Magnus only nodded, but kept on walking and tried to ignore and tune out Alec the best way that he knew, but it wasn't really working as Alec had the special talent for being obnoxious. Magnus still didn't really recover from Isabelle's last conversation and he didn't even want to know what else Alexander found  _ great  _ about himself. Though, the part that Isabelle told him about Alec being a kind soul he believed it. And he experienced Alexander's kindness first hand, but still he wished Alec could be a bit more… chill. Yes, that was the word and he sighed. And maybe pick a different time to flirt, not the middle of a mission again and Magnus shook his head. 

Yes, the two of them were on a mission together. Magnus wanted to avoid going with Alexander again, but the demon kept whining for such a long time that Underhill finally had it enough and just told Alec to do whatever he wanted, Magnus sighing, but at the same time he was glad that he was together with Alec. It had been a while since they've spent some time together as Alec was hanging out more than usually. Was he giving him the silent treatment? It boggled Magnus' mind and even though he didn't want to admit it, he could of missed having Alexander's whiny self all to himself. The so-called silence that he craved for before turned into loneliness and he was slowly beginning to realise that he missed having Alec around. But, he wouldn't do anything as crazy and admit it to Alec's face. Of course not.

The reason why they were on another mission was because there's been more and more demonic disturbances around the town and in the end, the New York Institute couldn't handle the attacks anymore, so with Jace and the others acting as the leaders they started working together with willing Downworlders. Many of them were against it, but Magnus' friends and a few more came through and decided the Shadowhunter to try and help bring peace into the city once more. And even so, they were still outnumbered, but having Isabelle and Alec on their side helped. Not that anyone but their group of friends knew that - spreading the news that they were working with _ two _ Greater Demons would just cause more disturbance between all of them and things were already strained as they were.

"Alexander, can you please  _ focus? _ " asked Magnus and Alec clicked with his tongue. "I just want to finish this mission and then return back home. My head is killing me and I'm really not in the mood for your foolish attempts to get into my pants. I thought it was clear,  _ nothing  _ can happen between us. So, please spare me this one time and-"

"You don't have to be so uptight,  _ fuck _ ," snapped Alec back because he was kind of offended that Magnus thought that that was all that he was trying to do. Maybe Isabelle was right, maybe he got too close to Magnus and he then just let out an annoyed groan and just walked past Magnus, ignoring how he raised an eyebrow and Magnus crossed his arms on top of his chest - Alexander was throwing a temper tantrum and it pissed Magnus off even more. It seemed that everything somehow managed to piss Magnus off lately and he just marched behind Alec, not liking that he was being ignored all of the sudden.  _ He wanted to have the last say in their argument.  _ And he wasn't fucking uptight!

"Hold on a second, where are you-" said Magnus and Alec glared at him. Honestly, Magnus' face suddenly pissed him off so much and he looked around.

"Being professional, like you want me to be," said Alec and rolled his eyes. "If you don't want to talk to me then nothing. I don't fucking care," said Alec and it was so obvious that he cared. Even Magnus could notice it and he rolled his eyes again, following Alexander even faster then and he wasn’t going to allow the demon to just flat out ignore him like that. If anyone was giving out the silent treatment it was going to be him and not the other way around.

“Don’t you walk away from me,” said Magnus and grumbled under his breath, totally losing his cool. He should be paying attention more to the demons around them, but he wasn’t. He was more focused on his relationship with Alec and he couldn’t believe that his personal things got the best of him. But then again, he couldn’t really help himself.

“I can do whatever I want,” said Alec and kept his back turned to Magnus. He didn’t want to look at him because Magnus was a traitor as well and he didn’t care how childish he was being. Yes, he was sulking and no, he wasn’t going to apologise for it.

“ _ Look at me! _ ” whined Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“Nope, your face pisses me off,” said Alec and completely ignored the warlock, walking around the corner and that was what finally pushed the warlock over the edge. He clenched his jaw. “I can do whatever I want. I’m a demon and you cannot control me,” he carried on as he was pretty much done with Magnus. He was even tempted leaving the warlock right then and there. 

Magnus couldn’t believe it - he was dealing with a child. He was dealing with an  _ actual _ child and he just stomped around the corner as well. “My face pisses you off? What the fuck is that supposed to even mean?” he yelled after him, but Alec wasn’t responding to him anymore and Magnus sighed and then tried to get himself under control. Alec really pushed him over the edge and Magnus couldn’t believe he  _ let _ him do that. That made his anger bubble up even more and he then stopped, closing his eyes and he massaged his temples instead, breathing in and out. It was slowly working, his blood pressure was coming down and he then bit his lip. 

_ How the hell was now he supposed to work with Alexander _ ?! Maybe he should just call Underhill and the others that the mission was a fail? He wouldn’t be really lying, now would he? There were no demons around anyway and he then got ready to send the fire message to the Institute. Just as he was start up the spell, he heard something - a growling sound from his right and his eyes widened when he saw a demon coming closer to him. And there wasn’t only one, there were multiple demons suddenly popping up and Magnus shuddered, looking into the direction that Alexander walked off to and then he looked at the demons again, hunching down and he bit his lip.

Now would be marvellous if Alec could get his ass back and  _ help _ , but he also wasn’t going to be begging and asking Alec for help. There were quite a lot of demons, but Magnus was sure that he could defeat all of them. He was after all, the High Warlock of Brooklyn and he then started up his magic, watching how red magic sparked under his fingers and he grinned. “Show me what you’ve got, fuckers,” he said and the demons didn’t hesitate in attacking him, Magnus blasting the first two demons into oblivion with his magic and then he grinned. “Who’s next?” he asked and soon got his answer, a nasty demon from the right trying to pounce on him, but Magnus was much faster. Magnus swiftly ducked down, tied up two demons with his magic and then burned them, smiling as they screeched in pain.

But, no matter how strong Magnus was, in was kind of impossible - it was one against hundreds of demons and even though Magnus was at first on the winning side, things soon started going south as more and more demons started coming up. It was kind of creepy how none of them were there before when Alec was with him, but now as soon as he was gone, the demons appeared - it was as if someone, Lilith, told them to only attack when the warlock would be alone and that scared Magnus because he knew that he was fucked. Alec was already probably back home and he bit his lip. 

One demon in particular caught Magnus by surprise; he was struggling to keep the ones in front of him far away that he completely forgot the ones in the back. He lost his attention only for a split second, but that split second costed him greatly. Magnus was suddenly pushed back and then forward, stumbling over his feet and he landed on the floor, the demon suddenly climbing on top of him. Magnus wanted to blast it with magic, but the demon seemed to be intelligent enough to know that he needed to keep Magnus’ hands tied up. So he did, pinning both of his hands above his head with his paws and Magnus shuddered when the demon’s jaw started coming closer to him.

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck, that was going to be it. That really wasn’t the way Magnus imagined to go _ and he whined, trying to kick off the demon, but it didn’t work and he bit his lip, trying to get his magic to start up, but his body wasn’t listening to him at all. Was it fear? Perhaps and he gulped, closing his eyes, preparing for the worst, but suddenly the weight that was pressing him down disappeared and after a cracking sound the demon stopped snarling. Magnus quickly perked up and his jaw dropped when he saw Alexander.

“I guess you do need me after all,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. Magnus was about to say something else, but his eyes widened in horror when the second demon came closer to Alec behind his back and just like it caught him by surprise before, it caught Alexander this time, sinking his fangs into Alec’s neck and Alec’s eyes only widened, letting out a strangled gasp and then he fell down onto his knees, Magnus shaking his head, because… everything that happened next felt like happening in slow motion. 

Alexander’s face twisted in shock.

Alexander slowly falling on his knees, holding his neck, which was bleeding heavily.

Alexander falling over onto his side.

Alexander not moving.

Someone screaming.

Magnus soon realised that that someone screaming was actually him, screaming a loud  _ no _ over and over again, as if saying it would undo what had just happened. He wanted to erase Alexander being bitten and- Magnus looked towards at other demons and felt anger bubbling up. Anger, mixed with sadness seemed to be the perfect formula to make Magnus’ magic power up and with soon not even one demon stayed alive after he sent those waves of dark red magic towards them -  _ his father’s powers.  _ Seeing Alec like this was enough for him to reach for his deepest and darkest weapon - magic that he didn’t like using because it made him feel dirty. But now it didn’t matter and after realising that no demon was powerful to survive that, Magnus was down on his knees next to Alec. 

“Alexander?” asked Magnus, shaking Alec furiously, but he got no response and he took in a deep breath. “Come on, this isn’t funny, stand up. It’s just a little demon bite, you should be immune to it, come on,” stammered Magnus and healed Alec’s bleeding wound with his magic. “Open your eyes for me, huh?” begged him Magnus and then gently held Alec’s face, turning his face to the side and felt his eyes burning. “Don’t do this to me, come on,” he said and bit his lip. “Alexander, stop fuckign around. Just open your eyes, yes?” he said chanting over and over again, but Alec’s eyes stayed closed and Magnus cursed.

Guilt, he felt guilty for speaking to him like that, for ignoring him for the past week and he leaned down. “I’m sorry, okay, I’ll listen to you, just… you can’t leave, not like that. You’re a demon for fuck’s sake,” muttered Magnus, but even so… In all of his tries to get Alec to speak back to him was he unsuccessful so he was getting desperate. Tears in his eyes, Magnus leaned over Alexander and then did what felt right - place his lips on top of Alec’s and then pulled back, sniffling a little bit. Just like that, Alec’s eyes popped open.

“It’s a miracle, he lives!” said Alec loudly and Magnus’ jaw dropped because  _ Alec was only playing a prank on him.  _ A cruel prank, making him think that he was… Alec grinned and then waggled his eyebrows. “One more?” he asked and puckered up.

“You fucking idiot,” said Magnus and punched Alec’s shoulder. “You fucking idiot… this wasn’t funny, making me believe that you...” he said and then his voice trailed off, lip shaking and Alec stopped laughing. “You… you.. I wanna kick your ass so much right now,” said Magnus. “Your joke was cruel and-”

“Magnus, I’m sorry,” said Alec and looked down. Magnus was on the verge of tears and Alec went closer, wrapping his arms around him. He was a fucking idiot, he made Magnus cry and for that was no forgiveness. “I didn’t think you’d care enough, I’m sorry,” said Alec and then pressed a kiss against Magnus’ temple. “I won’t do it again, okay? Please forgive me?” he asked and Magnus nodded, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck and buried his fingers into Alec’s hair. Magnus was about to let his tears fall, but then he saw black wings spring up from Alec’s back and wrap themselves around Magnus. 

Silently, Magnus stayed in the embrace for minutes to come, completely fascinated and amazed - Alexander’s wings were beautiful 

  
  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

It took a while to realise Magnus that Alec having wings wasn’t normal. At first he was just completely in awe, staring up at them and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from them. They were black, pitch black like the night sky and Magnus shuddered a little bit because they made him feel safe, biting on his lip and he swallowed thickly. The feathers were black and they looked absolutely stunning, some of them were even shining just a little bit. But then again, maybe Magnus was just making things up and he looked at Alec, who didn’t seem to notice that his wings were exposed like this. And for the first few seconds, he really didn’t realise what had he just done - show his wings in front of Magnus like that. So, he didn’t get why Magnus was looking at him like that, cocking his head to the side. It wasn’t until he looked up that he realised his mistake and he froze. 

Usually Alec had no problems having control over his wings, but all of that control was erased when it came to Magnus - when it came to Magnus, his wings had a mind of their own. Truth be told, his body had a mind of its very own as he still didn’t understand what was so special about Magnus that made him completely  _ shiver _ and feel so many things. Feel things that he spent centuries in Edom trying to  _ unlearn _ how to feel. To resent the feelings of love and appreciation. But all of his efforts were in vain - one look at Magnus and he felt  _ everything.  _ That scared him, because it made him feel vulnerable and he didn’t know what to do when he realised that he had just bared his wings to Magnus just like that and he kept looking down.

The wings - they were a blessing  _ and _ a curse. They were what made him and Isabelle stand out from the other Shadowhunters at the time and the reason why Robert tried so desperately to keep them away from the others. Because he knew that whatever was different among the Shadowhunters, it was frowned upon, especially among the Clave members. And he knew that the witch hunt on his son and daughter would begin as soon as the word would get out that they  _ weren’t _ just normal Shadowhunters at the time, though the witch hunt happened nonetheless, just for a completely different reason and Alec pressed his lips together. Alec quickly tucked his wings away, but it was no use. Magnus had seen them and he bowed his head down, trying to come up with a good excuse. 

Magnus was probably going to freak out now that he’d seen the wings. Alec didn’t like them now, they were black… they weren’t black back then. Edom changed him and his sister - it made them darker. Made their minds darken - they tried to fight it, but it was no use. Even as pure and innocent beings as them stood no choice. So as the time passed, the wings darkened, their hearts darkened as did their minds. They weren’t pure anymore, they were tainted and deep inside Alexander despised that about himself now. Not that he would ever admit it out loud. Then again, he was so glad that he wasn’t a Shadowhunter anymore. Not that he was fully one to begin with, but the Shadowhunter side of him was slowly fading away. There were still painful reminders of the time back then - the burned runes, that stayed behind only as scars. Alec burned them himself, he couldn’t face to look at them, so he physically deleted that part of his past. As did Isabelle.

Alec shuddered a little bit as he was snapped back to reality as Magnus shifted in his arms and then looked him into his eyes. Magnus had so many questions and they were coming - Alec could see it in his eyes. And Alec didn’t know how he would answer, but at the same time, Magnus deserved to know. Maybe not the whole truth, but a part of it. Maybe it would be okay to open up just a little bit, but that wasn’t the spot that he felt comfortable telling Magnus. Though if they would be back at the loft, maybe Alec would be ready to talk about his past. Maybe, he didn’t know. But he wanted to try and he looked at Magnus, biting on his lip and Magnus could see it in his eyes - Alexander was nervous. Not nervous, he was terrified and Magnus looked down, noticing that Alec’s hands were shaking.

And that was why, Magnus wasn’t going to push it. Instead of asking, he took Alexander’s hands into his own and gave him a little warm smile, trying to let Alec know that it was okay. Magnus knew it for a while now that Alexander wasn’t just a demon, but that there was more to his past. He saw the burnt angelic rune, he had seen a glisp at the wings back at that day before passing out when Alexander saved him for the first time. And there were other factors that showed Alexander being more than a normal demon - the Seraph blade lighting up. Magnus didn’t know what in the world happened to the Lightwoods, but… he knew that it mustn’t have been pretty and that was exactly why he didn’t ask too many questions. He had learned that day not to ask questions - if Alexander wanted to talk, he would come to him himself and tell him. Maybe Alec didn’t trust him enough yet and that was okay. 

‘’Magnus,’’ whispered Alec softly and Magnus looked at him, gently gripping on his hand and he nodded, trying to let Alec know that he was there for him. If he decided to speak or not. ‘’Can we go home? I think we need to talk,’’ he mumbled and  _ finally _ Magnus smiled because it looked like Alec chose to trust him this time. Instead of shutting him down and closing off again like he usually would, he finally came to understand that he could discuss things with the warlock.

‘’Okay,’’ said Magnus and stood up on his legs, Alec doing the same and he gave him a nervous smile as Magnus created a portal that lead them back to Brooklyn. Alec smiled because he couldn’t wait to be back there. He was okay, but he wasn’t going to lie - the denom bite exhausted him. He could feel its venom running through his veins and he was resistant, but not immune, huffing under his breath as he stepped through the portal, stumbling over his feet when he found himself in Magnus’ living room. That time Magnus was there to catch him, feeling a pair of strong arms being wrapped around him and he smiled - Magnus was there with him too, stepping through the portal just in time.

* * *

‘’Are you sure that you’ll be okay?’’ asked Magnus as he was watching Alec, who was laying on the couch now, Magnus on the floor, kneeling down next to him. Alec was burning up a little bit, but Magnus’ hand on his sweaty forehead made him feel at ease. ‘’You feel warm, I’ll go grab you a potion or something to knock down the fever,’’ he said and Alec just waved it off and gave him a little wink.

‘’That’s not the first time a demon had bitten me, I’ll be okay, Magnus,’’ said Alec. ‘’I’m immortal, so I can’t die anyway,’’ he said and Magnus huffed. That was true, but it hurt seeing Alec struggle like that. He just wanted to ease his pain. If Alec didn’t want a potion, then he’d use up a little bit of his magic and even though Alec started protesting, he soon stopped as Magnus’ magic filled him and relieved him a little bit. But there wasn’t a lot Magnus could do at that point - the venom was deeply rooted into Alexander, so… he could just ease the symptoms at the moment. ‘’Feeling better?’’ asked Magnus as he was gently stroking Alec’s hair then and the demon happily nodded.

‘’Yes. Feels nice,’’ said Alec and opened his eyes, looking into Magnus’ warm ones. Magnus was really close and he couldn’t fight another smile forming on his lips. Alec wanted to make an inappropriate joke about it, but in the end he realised that it wouldn’t feel right and he knew exactly  _ why _ he wanted to make that inappropriate joke - to shift the topic of the conversation. But still, he was determined to tell Magnus a little bit more about himself and he sighed softly, Magnus leaning down and he silently placed a kiss on top of Alec’s forehead, leaving the demon speechless. ‘’Oh, so you  _ do _ like me.’’

‘’Shut up,’’ said Magnus with a smile and then slowly sat down, but didn’t leave Alexander’s side. ‘’I must confess that I didn’t expect you to have  _ wings _ ,’’ said Magnus slowly and Alec looked at him, his smile disappearing and Magnus quickly perked up. Did he read the atmosphere wrong before? Because it seemed that Alec wanted to talk about it and he quickly felt guilt filling his chest and he stopped talking. 

‘’The wings, huh?’’ asked Alec and then turned his head to the side a little bit. ‘’The wings, yes, they’re there,’’ said Alec and then hummed, thinking. He couldn’t even imagine just how many questions were going through Magnus’ mind in the moment. ‘’You could say that they come from my mother’s side of the family,’’ he slowly started and Magnus looked at him. Oh? ‘’Surprised?’’ he asked and Magnus nodded, but then shrugged.

‘’You’re not a demon, are you?’’ asked Magnus softly and Alec looked down. ‘’At least you weren’t always one,’’ said Magnus and Alec gave him a sad smile, but in the end he nodded. Of course Magnus knew - he wasn’t stupid and even others started suspecting something. Jace, the time when he and Alec were fighting together, but he didn’t ask anything. For his own good, it seemed. ‘’You were a Shadowhunter, weren’t you?’’ carried Magnus on and Alec shrugged. 

‘’Kind of,’’ said Alec. ‘’My dad was a Shadowhunter,’’ he said. Alec seemed not to want to tell what his mother was, so Magnus didn’t ask. ‘’I suppose you want to know what went wrong, huh,’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled, but he nodded in the end. He had many questions, of course and Alec sighed sadly again. ‘’I don’t mind telling you now,’’ said Alec softly and reached up with his hand, gently skimming the back of his palm against Magnus’ cheek, who smiled. ‘’Yeah, you’re nothing like him,’’ he said and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

‘’Like who?’’

‘’Centuries ago, when I was young and foolish… I fell in love,’’ said Alec and Magnus knew that tale all too well - betrayed by someone that he loved. ‘’I also told him about my…  _ background _ , but he in the end used it against me,’’ said Alec and shook his head, face twisting in pain. ‘’He lead me on and made me do  _ terrible _ things,’’ said Alec, sighing sadly and he really didn’t want to go in details of what he was forced to do. Not really forced, he was just really naive to believe that what he was doing was right and Magnus bit on his lip. 

‘’I’m so sorry, Alexander,’’ said Magnus softly and Alec sadly smiled. 

‘’Yeah,’’ said Alec and sighed. ‘’I’m sorry too for being such a fool. Anyway, in the end the Clave  _ imprisoned _ me and not him,’’ he said and his face darkened. ‘’Because he was the son of Inquisitor himself, so… I didn’t really stand a chance. Dad tried to help out, but it was all in vain,’’ he said and dryly laughed. ‘’And then, well… things happened,’’ he said and felt a headache coming up and Magnus felt heartbroken for Alexander. Really the Shadowhunters screwed him over, so it made sense why he and his sister felt such hatred towards them. They were betrayed and Magnus shook his head.

Magnus knew all about emotional abuse thanks to Camille, his ex-girlfriend and he felt for Alec so much. He knew that their cases couldn’t be compared - what happened to Alec was incomparable to him, but still. He knew the pain, the heartbreak that followed such a betrayal. The person that you trusted and love unconditionally to completely break you hurt like no tomorrow and he gritted his teeth. It sucked to know that the justice wasn’t on Alec’s side. The Clave now was a lot more progressive than it was way back in the day - and even now they  _ weren’t _ , so he couldn’t even begin to understand the sheer horrors they had to put him through. 

“I’m sorry, Alexander,” whispered Magnus softly and scooted even closer to the couch, placing his hand on top of Alec’s chest and he shuddered just a little bit. Alec’s heart twisted in pain because he was faced with his past, his feelings bared and raw. And he didn’t like it, but Magnus  _ needed _ and  _ deserved  _ to know. “I know how it is to be emotionally abused by someone you love,” said Magnus and Alec looked up. “My ex-girlfriend had put me through hell, so… yeah, I know how it is,” he said and shook his head. “Though our cases can’t really compare, but-”

“What was her name?” asked Alec, cutting Magnus off in the middle of his sentence and the warlock looked down, arching his eyebrow, because Alec’s eyes were dark again and he shook his head. He didn’t want Alexander to worry about him now, but the demon wished to snap her neck. How dared she hurt Magnus?!

“Alexander, I’m fine now, come on… calm down,” said Magnus and gently buried his fingers back into Alec’s hair, gently tugging on his dark locks and made Alec relax under his touches. But still, he- “This is about you, not me, so  _ focus _ ,” said Magnus and Alec nodded in the end. He wondered, though, Alexander said that he was  _ nothing like him.  _ The one that he loved in the past… being compared to the person that he loved - did that mean that Alec loved him? Magnus’ cheeks reddened a little bit. Alec huffed and then closed his eyes again. The venom was still present, but its effects were slowly draining away and he was starting to feel better. 

“About my mother… she’s actually an angel,” said Alec after a little while and Magnus looked down.  _ Wait what?!  _ So, Alexander’s father, a Shadowhunter and an angel had  _ children?!  _ But how did an angel and a Shadowhunter even meet in the first place?! Magnus had even more questions and Alec smiled when he saw Magnus’ face. “Hard to believe, I know,” said Alec and then turned his head to the side. “But many centuries ago, things were as bad as they’re now, if not worse,” said Alec and Magnus shuddered. Yes, he remembered. He was on his father’s side at the time and he felt his stomach twisting. “Shadowhunters got desperate, so they asked for help. They and the angels fought on the same side. That was how my mother and dad met,” said Alec and then sighed.

“And?”

“Aren’t you the nosy one?” asked Alec and chuckled tiredly. “Well, you know. They fell in love and my mother decided to stay on Earth after the battle was won,” said Alec and then sighed. “They were happy, said dad. But things soon went south after Izzy had been born. The angels found out that an angel and a Shadowhunter had conceived not one but two children and well… that didn’t sit with them well,” said Alec. “In order to keep me and Izzy safe, my mom had to leave Earth for good. Angels have forbidden her to walk the Earth ever again, so since then it’s been us and dad,” said Alec and puffed his cheeks. “He said that leaving us was the hardest decision she had to do,” he said and then pressed his lips together. 

Magnus was slowly taking everything in and the more he heard, the more he felt sorry for Alec. He didn’t pity him, but it just showed how much Alexander had been through in his life so far and he was a truly broken man, hidden behind the mask of a demon when in reality, there was a true angel hidden. A kind person that was tainted by evil people, that was let down so many times and Magnus couldn’t even imagine how much it pained Alexander to be only talking about his past. But, Alec felt oddly calm and comfortable since this was Magnus that he was talking to. Magnus was kind and nothing like  _ him.  _ So, maybe, Alec was prepared to give love a try. Maybe, he wasn’t sure, but Magnus was different and he didn’t judge him. Alec was looking up at Magnus’ face as he tried to find any signs of hatred or judgement, but he found none of that. And he was surprised, in a good way and he relaxed. 

“Aw, Alexander, my darling,” said Magnus and his emotions got the best of him, leaning down to Alec, going face to face with him and Alec didn’t move, allowing Magnus to take things at his own pace. And he did, he gently cupped Alexander’s face and he smiled. “You’ve been put through a lot,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “Having to suffer all these years down in Edom,” he said and swallowed, making a little pause. “But you’re free now, so,” he said and shook his head. “It’s okay to not be okay, you know? I’ll never judge you for that.”

“I know,” said Magnus. “Because you’re kind and amazing,” he said and shifted his gaze down. “I care for you  _ really _ , but,” said Alec and Magnus’ heart fell. There was a but? “Maybe you were right, I’m a demon and being with me wouldn’t be good,” said Alec. “I don’t want to hurt you. I mean I’m a demon and pretty selfish,” said Alec, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you or-”

“You’d never hurt me, Alexander, come on,” said Magnus and then smiled. “So what if you’re a demon? You’re a kind soul, Alexander, don’t let anyone take that from you,” said Magnus and Alec scoffed, showing his demon eyes on purpose and Magnus grinned. “Again, beautiful,” said Magnus. “There was a time that your demon eyes scared me because they seemed cold and soulless, but now,” said Magnus and smiled. “They are warm and so full of life, Alexander, so it won’t work. Also, I find them beautiful,” he said and showed his own warlock mark, his gold eyes shining as they kept looking back into Alec dark ones.

“But it might not be a good idea for us-”

“Well, I have some wonderful news for you, angel,” said Magnus and Alec literally shivered when he was being called like that. He didn’t hate it, quite the opposite, he liked it. It was a nickname, a sign of endearment and he knew that. It was for that exact reason that it made Alec’s heart warm up and he swallowed thickly, feeling a lump form at the back of his throat and he huffed under his breath. “I’m not really  _ that _ smart either, so,” whispered Magnus and then leaned over and placed his lips on top of Alexander’s again.

It took Alec a few moments before he responded because this kiss was different than their first one. He knew that first one well - it was lust and arousal, nothing more and that was no secret to Alexander. But this was definitely not the same. Magnus was gentle with him. Alec usually  _ begged _ his partners to be rough with him and no one… no one was as gentle as Magnus was now being to him. Holding his cheek so gently as he pulled back just a little bit, but then he dipped down again and pressed his lips against Alexander’s again. It was by third kiss that Alec finally responded and kissed Magnus back - slowly, almost as if he was afraid.

Alec was shivering when he slowly sat up and Magnus lifted himself up on his knees, keeping their lips locked, happily sighing when he felt Alexander’s arms going around him. 


	10. Chapter 10

‘’So the demon won’t be coming with us?’’ asked Jace and Magnus shook his head - well that made absolutely no sense. Alec went always with them on their missions, as did Isabelle. Izzy was there and ready, but for some reason, Alec was going to be absent and Jace didn’t like the sound of that. They needed all the force that they could get and being one man short - especially when that man was Alec - was really going to show. Though Isabelle was just as strong, but having the Lightwood siblings going in there united was always the best combination and Jace rubbed the back of his neck. ‘’Are you sure? I mean we could really use help,’’ he said and Magnus folded his arms on top of his chest and stepped in front of his bedroom. Alec was in there, resting. It was the next day and Alec still wasn’t completely recovered - he had taken a lot of demon venom into his system and despite being a demon, there was still  _ angelic _ blood within him. It was why the healing process took longer and he wasn’t going to let anyone walk in there and disturb Alexander.

‘’I told you, didn’t I?’’ snapped Magnus and pushed Jace back a little bit. He couldn’t believe it, he had explained everything to him and he still insisted on bringing Alexander with them?! As expected, really, he was quite selfish, but Magnus didn’t want to cause too much scene, so he took in a deep breath and forced a little smile. ‘’Alexander was bitten by a demon yesterday, his infection still isn’t completely healed,’’ he said and Jace rolled his eyes -  _ that was it?!  _ Alec was a demon, so weren’t demons supposed to be immune to the demon venom. It made no sense and somehow he managed to forget the thing that he noticed - the Seraph blade lighting up when Alec was holding it.

‘’He’s a demon though,’’ said Jace and Magnus rolled his eyes, trying to keep it together. He wanted to tell Jace that no, Alexander wasn’t a normal demon. That he was instead  _ half angel _ , a true Nephilim if you will, but he managed to keep quiet because it was obvious that Alec didn’t want others to know. Still, it pissed him off and after the things that happened between them the day before, he was that more careful about Alec and he was protective as hell of him. Isabelle couldn’t stop smiling because  _ she just knew that something happened between them.  _ Something good, finally, and she had so many things to ask Magnus. 

‘’Look, you Bleached sparrow,’’ said Izzy when she finally had it enough. ‘’Magnus says that my brother isn’t well,’’ said Isabelle. ‘’After what he had done for you, I think you should just accept it, smile, nod and don’t talk back,’’ she said and stepped closer to Magnus, who nodded. Yes, he should do exactly that. ‘’If not, I can still get my whip and blade out and the two of us can have a little bit of fun,’’ she said and her demon eyes were out. Magnus knew that this time Isabelle wasn’t serious and that she was just playing around, but the threat worked on Jace and he quickly stepped back and just kept his mouth shut. ‘’Good boy,’’ she said. ‘’See, he can be smart when he knows how to listen. I should train you more,’’ she carried on and Jace then gave Magnus a horrified look, shaking his head furiously. 

‘’Iz, don’t threaten him too much. Our Jace here is fragile and no match for you,’’ said Magnus and winked and Isabelle clicked with her tongue, but stopped poking fun at Jace as he was freaked out enough according to Magnus, but she wanted to carry on with the teasing and… not exactly bullying, but it was close to it. ‘’Okay, now that we’re all finally on the same page,’’ said Magnus and Jace nodded, Magnus then looking towards Simon as he was also there and kept his eyes on Isabelle for the entire time. Magnus had noticed that every time that Simon was present with Isabelle that he would follow her around like a puppy and couldn’t stop looking at her. And Isabelle was slowly warming up to the vampire, at least she didn’t resent him like she did Jace. ‘’Maybe we should get going?’’ suggested Magnus and the others nodded.

Magnus looked around his shoulder and then smiled when he was looking at the door. He hoped that Alec was feeling better. He had checked up on his before and even made him some tea, which Alexander was more than happy to drink up. Magnus slipped some healing potion into it because even though Alec was detesting any kind of help, Magnus just wanted his  _ angel _ to heal up nicely and fast. He hummed and then nodded. Okay, with one last check up on Alec, he decided that it was time to get going, summoning up the wardings around his place to keep Alec safe and only then portalled them out of his loft.

* * *

Despite all of Jace’s whining, the mission was a success, just like Magnus said that it would be. Magnus didn’t really hang around too much because he was in a hurry to get back to the loft as he was wanting to check up on Alexander - he hoped that he was okay. He wondered if Alec had taken the food that he had prepared for him. In the morning, he had summoned Alexander some delicious food and left it beside the bed, in a hope that Alec would eat it to get his strength up. Usually Alec didn’t like food, but he hoped that he would still give it a try. Although before he was able to portal back home, Isabelle caught up to him and suggested that they should  _ walk _ back home as the loft was just a few blocks away. And that would give her the perfect chance to ask Magnus all sorts of questions. 

Magnus was also itching to ask a few questions himself, biting on his lip as they walked in a complete silence for the first few moments, but Isabelle wanted to waste no more time, so she didn’t hesitate anymore. ‘’I suppose my brother finally made a move on you?’’ asked Isabelle and Magnus felt his cheeks heating up. How in the world was she able to read him open like that? Did it really show so much on his face?! Then again, Isabelle knew Alec more than anyone else, so maybe she could feel it or something. Magnus didn’t really know how the connection between the siblings worked, but they were definitely connected in some way that was different from other siblings!

‘’How did you-’’

‘’Ah, just a little hunch,’’ said Izzy and then happily rubbed her palms together. ‘’Alec’s been after you ever since he’s been free from Edom,’’ said Isabelle and chuckled, nodding as she walked alongside Magnus and then she puckered up her lips. Magnus looked away and then rolled his eyes -  _ yes, he was very well aware of that fact.  _ It wasn’t like Alec was trying to hide his attraction to Magnus, he was very vocal about that and he shook his head. But it was different this time and he hoped that Isabelle knew that it was more than just Alexander having a little bit of fun. ‘’My brother usually plays around with his partners, but he’s serious about you,’’ she said and her voice suddenly changed. It wasn’t as cheerful anymore and Magnus felt chills going up his spine. Indeed, Isabelle was still a demon after all and he laughed nervously.

‘’Yeah, I know he’s serious about me,’’ mumbled Magnus and then took in a deep breath.

‘’Good,’’ said Isabelle. ‘’And I hope you’re serious about him too, because Alec doesn’t open up his heart for  _ anyone _ , you’re special,’’ said Izzy and Magnus nodded  _ again. _ He didn’t take Isabelle’s words to heart, he knew that she was being only a protective sister, especially given their past. He would be acting the same if he was in the same situation. ‘’I like you Magnus,’’ said Izzy and Magnus nodded. ‘’I think you’re a good guy, but still - if you only think about hurting my brother, I won’t hesitate to protect him,’’ she said and her eyes darkened, Magnus flinching a little bit, but he still managed a little smile and then he nodded again.

‘’Look, we haven’t even really discussed what we are yet… as in terms of relationship,’’ mumbled Magnus and Isabelle arched an eyebrow. ‘’Hmm, we’ve just only shared a few kisses and… Alexander did open up a little bit about his past,’’ said Magnus and Isabelle stiffened up a little bit. ‘’I don’t know what  _ he _ did to Alec exactly and truth me told I know enough - I don’t need any more details because from what Alexander told me, he was a piece of shit,’’ he said and Isabelle kept her breath in, not allowing herself to breathe even. ‘’But I would  _ never _ hurt or betray him like that,’’ he said and Isabelle nodded.

‘’I know,’’ said Isabelle and went really quiet because she couldn’t believe that Alec had told Magnus about his  _ past. _ Something that he promised he’d never bring up to anyone else but Isabelle and even with her he didn’t like talking about it. That had shaken her up a little bit. ‘’I’m sorry, I didn’t try to compare you to him because you’re nothing like that trash,’’ she said and then went quiet again, Magnus nodding. Again, he knew all of that, Isabelle was just being a protective sister. ‘’So, Alec told you about his past?’’ she asked, her voice suddenly small and Magnus nodded.

‘’He mentioned some things, not everything,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I didn’t push it, he wanted to tell me himself,’’ he quickly added because he didn’t want Izzy to think that Alec was forced into opening up to him and Isabelle only nodded. She believed Magnus that, it wasn’t like forcing Alec into that would work and she puffed her cheeks. But that also made her wonder - what did he tell him?! She needed to know which things were being said because she didn’t like being kept in the dark. 

‘’Magnus, what did Alec tell you about himself… or  _ us _ ?’’ asked Isabelle, her voice strained a little bit and Magnus hummed before he spoke up. He wondered if Isabelle would be upset with Alec for telling him about them being half angels, or about… 

‘’Alexander mentioned his emotionally abusive partner,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Like I said before, he didn’t go into specifics about what the fucker made him do, but he did mention that he ended in prison because of him,’’ said Magnus and shuddered. ‘’If I could go back in time and meet that son of a bitch, I would burn him myself,’’ said Magnus and Isabelle stiffened up even more, but she nodded. Yes, she would do the same, she was sorry that she didn’t do that back then when she had the chance before the trial. ‘’He, um, well… he didn’t really need to tell me about the other thing - I kind of figured it out on my own. That you two aren’t really regular demons?’’ asked Magnus. 

Isabelle nodded and then placed her hands together. ‘’Yeah I’d figure you noticed something,’’ said Isabelle and then bit on her lower lip. ‘’He also told you about who we really are?’’ asked Isabelle and Magnus nodded.

‘’He mentioned you being half Shadowhunters and half angels,’’ said Magnus and Isabelle looked down. ‘’He showed me his wings,’’ he muttered and then rubbed the back of his neck. ‘’Though he told me later on that he didn’t really want to do that - that he somehow lost control over his wings and that they just popped up themselves?’’ asked Magnus and then nervously laughed. ‘’But, yes, he again didn’t go into too many details,’’ he said and Isabelle was slowly taking everything in. Magnus knew things - he knew many things and she didn’t know how to feel about it. Of course she didn’t hate the fact that Magnus knew, but she was still… it was a new feeling that she could share her past for the first time in  _ centuries.  _

‘’So he told you about all of that,’’ she said and Magnus slowly nodded. ‘’Interesting,’’ she said and didn’t seem angry, which was good. ‘’He didn’t mention the trial?’’ asked Isabelle and Magnus’ eyes widened.

‘’No, what kind of-’’

‘’Nothing,’’ said Isabelle quickly and Magnus’ eyes widened. Isabelle’s face was pale for a split second and twisted in pain, but she quickly flipped back into her usual mood and Magnus took that as a sign not to ask questions, but honestly he was afraid what kind of a trail it was. It had to be somehow connected to that guy betraying Alec and he didn’t like the sound of that at all. ‘’Nothing, anyway,’’ she said and smiled smugly. ‘’So, you and my brother are a  _ thing _ now, I suppose?’’ she asked and waggled her eyebrows. 

Magnus was taken back a little bit by how quickly she changed the tone of her voice, but in the end he just smiled and nodded along. ‘’Yeah, it seems that we are… a  _ thing _ ,’’ he said and then pressed his lips together. ‘’I just… don’t know how wise it would be if we go around and announcing it to anyone,’’ said Magnus and then bit his lip. ‘’I don’t want to bring more troubles to Alexander,’’ he mumbled and Isabelle’s heart melted.

‘’You really love my brother, don’t you?’’ she asked and Magnus’ eyes widened.

‘’ _ Love _ ?!’’ he asked loudly and Isabelle smiled. ‘’I… we-we didn’t even go out for a date… who’s talking about  _ love _ , it’s too early, isn’t it?’’ he asked and Isabelle was cackling because it was definitely a lot of fun messing around with Magnus - his reactions never failed to impress and she just giggled. 

* * *

Magnus found Alexander in the living room upon arriving back home and he smiled up to his ears when he saw him sitting on his couch and just reading a book. He looked at peace and he slowly looked up when he heard the door opening, a soft smile spreading across his lips when he saw that Magnus was back home. Closing the book, Alec quickly popped up onto his legs and walked closer to the warlock, who was happy to be finally back home, extending out his arms and he smiled - Alec seemed to be doing much better and he then walked up to him, looking up at his face. Alec was doing the same, scanning Magnus from head to toes, trying to see if he had any scratches on him or wounds, but he looked good and he smiled in relief.

‘’You’re finally back home,’’ said Alec softly and Magnus nodded.

‘’Yeah, I finally,’’ said Magnus and then gently reached up with his hand, placing his palm on top of Alec’s cheek and smiled. Alec didn’t seem warm at the touch anymore, which probably meant that the venom was out of his system for good now. He also didn’t look as pale anymore, which was good. ‘’How are you doing? Are you feeling better?’’ asked Magnus and Alec felt a bit awkward now that Magnus was being so kind and soft to him. It’s been centuries since he had been shown any kind of affection, so he felt a little bit lost for words.

‘’Yeah, I’m fine,’’ said Alec and shifted from one leg to the other. ‘’Thanks for the food,’’ he mumbled under his breath and Magnus smiled, happy to know that Alec had a few bites after all, his thumb gently caressing Alec’s cheek and he sighed, biting into his lip. ‘’The mission went well? You weren’t hurt, were you?’’ asked Alec and Magnus shook his head.

‘’Everything went okay,’’ said Magnus softly.

‘’Iz okay too?’’

‘’Yeah, she is okay too,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled in relief.

‘’Good,’’ said Alec and took in a deep breath. ‘’I wish I could’ve come with you. Kicking some demon ass would do me good,’’ he then said and Magnus grinned, eyes flickering down onto Alec’s lips. Damn, they looked inviting and so damn kissable, shifting his gaze up. 

‘’You’ll get another chance by the rate that Lilith keeps bringing demons up,’’ said Magnus and then slowly walked closer to the couch, taking Alexander’s hand into his and he lead him to there, so that they could sit down together and just catch up after the long day. Alec’s day was pretty boring as Magnus could imagine, but it was good that he stayed home. He was able to heal properly. ‘’So, what were you up to while I was away from home?’’ asked Magnus playfully and Alec shrugged.

‘’I was snooping around your apartment,’’ said Alec bluntly and Magnus choked a little bit. He just didn’t expect someone to flat out admit that. 

‘’ _ Oh? _ ’’ asked Magnus and then shook his head, but the look on Alexander’s face told him that he found some interesting stuff and he was just  _ dying _ to tell him, wasn’t he? ‘’And? Did you find something interesting?’’ asked Magnus, cheeks a bit reddening because he had a few things that were well hidden in his room. But they would be easy to be found if you were Alexander and the smile on Alec’s face told him that he probably found  _ them _ .

‘’Oh, many things,’’ said Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes. ‘’Especially in your  _ room _ ,’’ he said and Magnus clicked with his tongue. ‘’You know,’’ he said and his eyes lit up like a candle. ‘’You have quite the collection of sex toys,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened. ‘’I must confess that I wasn’t really acquainted with a lot of stuff in there because it’s been a while since I’ve got the pleasure to experience them,  _ but _ ,’’ said Alec and grinned. ‘’The internet, as you call it, is pretty helpful and  _ my, my,  _ Magnus,’’ said Alec and waggled his eyebrows.

‘’Yeah well, when you’re single for as long as I’ve been this time, you need-’’

‘’Ah, yes, so I’ve assumed,’’ said Alec and winked. ‘’But believe me, you won’t be needing them anymore now that you’ve got me. Those things cannot compare to the real thing,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ cheeks had reddened a little bit. Yeah? Alec had liked bragging about that, so he wondered if he was really as good as he claimed to be. Probably. Magnus dragged his tongue over his lower lip and then shook his head. ‘’Though we could keep a few things - such as the handcuffs and the whips, oh and especially the blind-’’

‘’Alexander, stop talking, will you?’’ asked Magnus and Alec was pouting again because Magnus was ruining the fun again with being serious. Magnus then glanced at Alec and then grinned himself, shaking his head and Alec perked up - was that a yes?! ‘’You’re really unbelievable,’’ said Magnus. ‘’There I was, worrying about you for the whole day, hoping that you were resting properly while you were… snooping around and showcasing my sex toys?’’ asked Magnus and Alec proudly nodded.

‘’I did,’’ said Alec. ‘’It was a great find, by the way,’’ said Alec and then scooted. ‘’How about it? Should we try-’’

‘’Maybe, in the future,’’ said Magnus quickly and Alec hummed.

‘’I’ll take it,’’ he said in the end and then went closer to Magnus, taking his face into his hands and he pressed their foreheads together. ‘’I worried about you too, by the way,’’ mumbled Alec softly and Magnus smiled and leaned up, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss.

* * *

**Idris**

‘’All alone up here?’’ asked Helen as she walked outside on the balcony. Aline, her girlfriend, was leaning against the wall and was looking up at the sky. It was evening and the first stars were already beginning to show - Idris was beautiful in the evening time. The blonde walked up to Aline, who smiled and sighed happily, looking around. Once she was sure they were completely alone, she pressed a very quick and shy kiss upon her lips.

‘’I’ve missed you,’’ said Aline softly and Helen smiled, sighing happily and then she leaned against the wall as well, standing close to Aline, who was again gazing up at the sky. ‘’Truly beautiful, isn’t it? Idris is pretty when the sun sets,’’ she carried on and Helen nodded. Though, in her humble opinion, there were things that were prettier there in Idris and she was looking at one of them at the moment. Helen bit her lip and then looked down, gently grazing the back of her palm against Aline’s, who flushed a little bit and cleared his throat. ‘’Helen?’’

‘’I can think of someone else who is far more beautiful than all of the stars combined,’’ commented Helen and Aline flushed a bit more because she knew where she was aiming with that and she looked down as well. Helen wanted to hold her hand, taking in a deep breath and then she finally mustered up the courage, taking her hand. They were alone at the moment, so it was okay, feeling her heart jump a little bit and she could hear Helen’s little giggle.

‘’Stop saying weird stuff,’’ said Aline, but the smile on her face prevailed. She did like when Helen was being extra cheesy, puffing her lips. ‘’Tomorrow we head to New York, huh?’’ she asked.

‘’Yeah, we’re needed there. Apparently the city’s under constant demon attacks, so we’ve been asked to look into it,’’ said Helen and Aline nodded. ‘’Jace seemed pretty worried when he was here,’’ she then carried on and Aline nodded, preparing to do anything to help her friends out, really. The same went for Helen and she playfully leaned against the other, making Aline grin and she playfully bumped back.

They continued teasing each other for a bit longer until Aline noticed something on the sky that did not look right. It was a bright star, but it was getting closer and closer, tugging on Helen’s shirt, who looked up when she saw Aline pointing up at the sky and her eyes widened as well. ‘’Just what in the world is that thing?’’

‘’No idea, but it’s coming closer and we need to warn the others,’’ said Helen, Aline nodding. The star was descending way too fast and before they were able to even reach the door, the ground started shaking and there was a bright light to be seen in the distant. The star fell? Aline looked shocked and Helen’s heart was beating fast because they both had zero ideas what they had just witnessed, the voices of other Shadowhunters being heard. People were running out on the streets, commotion and whispers being heard. 

The light in the distance was slowly going out, but the confusion stayed. The confusion deepened when a few of the Shadowhunters that were sent on the mission to scout out what happened returned back and reported that all that they were able to find out was a giant crater in the ground, not too far from the city. But nothing else, so it seemed that whatever arrived in Idris was already  _ gone _ and both Helen and Aline couldn’t stop wondering - was Jace right? Maybe he wasn’t exaggerating at all… were things much worse than they first thought they were?!


	11. Chapter 11

‘’So, if I understand the both of you  _ completely _ \- something landed in Idris yesterday?  _ Landed _ ?’’ asked Jace and Helen and Aline looked at each other, nodding. They knew how it sounded, but that was literally the best way they were able to explain it to Jace and the others and Jace started massaging his temples. ‘’There’s not only Lilith now for us to worry about,  _ great _ ,’’ he said and then pressed his lips together. It was stressful being in charge as it was, but it seemed that the stress was only adding on and he didn’t know how long he could carry this on. It was good, though, that the Clave finally saw that they were being outnumbered as they finally sent some backup from Idris and Jace looked at Clary, who was also trying to make a sense out of this.

‘’And you’re saying that there was nothing left when you came to the scene of the crash?’’ asked Clary and Helen nodded. Exactly, nothing was being seen, just a big crater in the ground, but that was it. The Clave tried to keep it a secret from the others, but Helen and Aline did end up telling the others at the New York Institute - they were their friends, so they deserved to know the truth of what was going on. 

‘’Yeah,’’ said Aline and then shook her head. ‘’I don’t know, there’s just this giant crater in the ground, but it makes no sense,’’ she said. ‘’As there was this bright light and the ground started shaking,’’ she said and made a little pause. ‘’None of us had seen anything like this,’’ she carried on and then clicked with her tongue. ‘’But also, it couldn’t be anything demonic, our sensors would be able to pick it up,’’ she said and then chewed on her lip, looking at her girlfriend, who confirmed that for all of them. There was none of demonic activities being noted in Idris last evening. Still, it was concerning and they didn’t know what to do or think about it. The Clave  _ froze _ when they didn’t know what they were dealing with.

‘’I think we should just focus on one thing at a time,’’ said Underhill and the others looked at him. ‘’I mean, I know it’s not ideal that something unknown  _ landed _ in Idris of all places, but if there was no demonic presence being recorded, then maybe we should just focus on Lilith at first and then deal with that later,’’ he proposed because they were stretched out thin as it was. If they would add one more thing on their plate that was already too full, they would probably completely and utterly sink for good. And Jace had to agree with him,  _ this _ was a more concerning matter. Besides, probably the Clave officials were dealing themselves. Though, he was going to phone his grandmother later to ask her about the descending  _ star _ , as Helen and Aline described it to them.

‘’Yeah, suppose we should do that,’’ said Helen and then clasped her hands together. ‘’I see that the Institute is practically empty,’’ she commented and the others looked at each other. Yeah, most of the Shadowhunters were out dealing with countless of demon attacks. Though, as of late, they were getting more and more successful thanks to the Lightwood siblings - of whom Helen and Aline still didn’t know a thing, but maybe it would be a good idea if they did. Jace and the others trusted them well enough - they rarely sided with the Clave these days and they all knew what their main force of hatred towards the Clave was, though they didn’t really speak about it out loud - the girls didn’t seem to want to discuss about it. Still, they would have to talk to Magnus (and Alec) first before telling the girls about them working with two demons. It was still too risky and Jace then sighed.

‘’It’s been like this for months now,’’ said Jace and looked around the empty Institute. ‘’I’ve tried telling  _ them _ , but they wouldn’t listen. They help us  _ now,  _ when we’re practically almost defeated and… eh,’’ said Jace and clicked with his tongue. ‘’Doesn’t surprise me one bit, the Clave had always been like that,’’ said Jace and wrinkled his nose. Nope, he didn’t like it one bit and he wasn’t the only one in the room that thought like that.

‘’Yeah, well, screw the Clave,’’ said Underhill as he  _ detested _ them as well. All of them. He then cleared his throat and crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’I suppose I should fill you girls in on all of the areas of the city that have been under attack as of late,’’ said Underhill and Helen and Aline perked both up, nodding. ‘’Lilith also moves the rift every now and then - usually when we get too close to it,’’ he said and then placed his hands on top of his sides. Helen and Aline nodded, glancing at each other. Helen managed to send a little wink to her girlfriend, who pretended that she didn’t see it. Underhill sure did and he grinned. ‘’Come on, follow me,’’ he said and the couple followed him.

As Helen and Aline were getting filled in on all of the details, Jace made a decision to go and visit Magnus - and tell him about Helen and Aline, maybe convince him to tell them about Alec and Isabelle as well. 

* * *

‘’Jace had been really quiet today,’’ said Magnus as he was glancing at his phone - no new calls, no text, no nothing. That couldn’t mean anything good as he knew that the blonde Shadowhunter was practically always on the line with him, usually picking the worst moments to pop into his life. So, the sudden silence made him feel suspicious - did something happen?! He was frowning and Alec rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers and made Magnus’ phone fly across the room. As it was Magnus’ possession, he didn’t break it, so he just placed it onto the kitchen counter, far away from Magnus’ reach. ‘’Alexander, what are you-’’

‘’Ugh, stupid electronics,’’ whined Alec and then scooted closer to his…  _ boyfriend _ ?! It that how they called it these days? He wasn’t sure, but maybe he would like calling the warlock that. ‘’Leave Jace out of it, finally he’s leaving us alone, so can you  _ please _ not ruin the moment with talking about the bleached douche?’’ asked Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes, but in the end he nodded. 

‘’I suppose you’re right,’’ said Magnus and then hummed. ‘’It’s just weird that he’s leaving us alone, you know?’’ asked Magnus and Alec flinched a little bit, feeling a sting of jealousy? Oh, yes, Alec was a very possessive and a jealous person, so he really didn’t appreciate Magnus thinking about the blonde Shadowhunter of all people when it was just them. Magnus noticed that Alexander’s face suddenly changed and he felt a bit worried. ‘’Something the matter?’’ asked Magnus softly and cradled Alec’s face.

‘’I don’t like it - you thinking about that asshole when you’re with me,’’ growled Alec and then bit into his lower lip. The tone of his voice surprised Magnus a little bit and he cocked his head to the side. Alexander was jealous of Jace, that he was. And Alec didn’t like it. He didn’t like how he wasn’t in control of his emotions and that he was jealous of that idiot of all people. But he also knew that it wasn’t normal to feel like this - to be so possessive, controlling and  _ jealous.  _ It wasn’t really him, at least not the  _ old  _ him. Usually he didn’t mind being overly possessive, but it was different with Magnus. Possessive and controlling weren’t good and as a demon he was very well aware of that, he didn’t want to mess this up. 

‘’You’re jealous of Jace?’’ asked Magnus with a chuckle.

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec, no questions asked. Flat out admitted the truth and Magnus was about to chuckle again, but Alec was faster than him. ‘’And I don’t like it,’’ said Alec and Magnus cocked his head to the side. ‘’You are  _ mine _ ,’’ he carried on, his voice really low and he looked over at Magnus, his demon eyes exposed and it made chills run up Magnus’ spine - not in a bad way. He didn’t mind being called Alexander’s. 

‘’But I am yours,’’ said Magnus, flirting his way through, but Alec shook his head.

‘’No… I mean yes, but not like how I feel it,’’ he said and shook his head. ‘’I shouldn’t feel like you’re my  _ possession _ ,’’ he said and leaned back in the couch and pressed his lips together. Magnus finally realised what he was talking about and he bit his lip. ‘’Now that we’re together?’’ he asked and Magnus smiled, nodding. ‘’I feel like… if anyone even  _ looks _ at you the wrong way that I’ll snap their neck and-’’ he started and grumbled, his anger getting the best of him again. He was frustrated with himself and Magnus scooted a bit closer, taking Alec’s hand into his own.

It must had been hard, trying to battle with yourself like that - being a demon made you fight with your dark thoughts constantly. Magnus was aware of it - he wasn’t a demon, but it was like that for him when he was in Edom with his father. At first he didn’t question it, he did whatever the man asked of him… horrible things. But as passed on, he started questioning things and he figured it himself that it wasn’t right - like Alexander was figuring it out now, which was the start of Magnus freeing himself of his past. Then came the constant battle with his dark impulses that his father had rooted into him. It was hell to break free of those habits, but now that he had, he was free and finally at peace. 

‘’I understand, Alexander,’’ said Magnus. ‘’But you’re aware of that and you’re trying to change it, right?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded. Still he looked troubled and he was biting on his lip. ‘’Look, you’ve just gotten out of Edom,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked at him. ‘’You were there for centuries,’’ he said and shook his head. ‘’I was there with my father for a few decades and even that was enough to completely change me, it took me a while before I was  _ myself _ again,’’ said Magnus and Alec was only listening to him. ‘’So, as long as you’re aware of your feelings, that it isn’t healthy, I think it’s improvement, right?’’ asked Magnus and Alec mumbled something under his breath, but he nodded. 

‘’I suppose,’’ he said and was amazed how understanding Magnus was. He tended to forget that Magnus was also in Edom once and he sighed a little bit.

‘’And for the record, you can call me yours all you want,’’ said Magnus, trying to make the mood in the room brighten a little bit. It worked that time, a little smile spreading across Alexander’s lips because he was glad that he got to express his feelings. Huh, maybe Magnus was right, maybe he was changing because the old him would never tell Magnus what he had just told him. The old him would probably just killed off anyone that would even try and lay their finger on Magnus. Alec kept looking at Magnus for a bit longer, the warlock grinning as he inched his face closer to Alec’s. ‘’Hmm, what are you thinking about, angel?’’ asked Magnus and Alec shuddered at the nickname again.

‘’Calling me an angel ironically?’’ asked Alec and grinned.

‘’Not at all, you  _ are _ an angel,’’ said Magnus, huffing a little bit when he felt Alexander’s hot breath again his lips and he gently parted them, Alec’s eyes falling upon Magnus’ plump lips and he dragged his tongue over his lower lip. ‘’Don’t worry about things, we have literally all the time in the world given that we’re both immortal beings, so,’’ said Magnus and gently cupped Alec’s face. ‘’So, everything is going to be okay, yes?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

Oh, Alec was already feeling in higher spirits and he wasted no time, pressing his lips against Magnus’, who was quick to respond this time to the kiss, gently gasping when he felt Alexander’s hot tongue licking across his lower lip. Magnus shuddered and he slowly parted his lips, Alec licking into Magnus’ mouth, who softly gasped because that feeling… just a single kiss was able to make him lose control like this. He pressed up against Alec more, applying more pressure to the kiss and Alec grinned into the kiss, gently pushing Magnus back against the couch, the warlock not protesting at all this time and Alec was smiling -  _ finally, it was a victory for him.  _

It should be illegal to look the way Magnus was looking at the moment - his cheeks were slightly red, his glamour was down (on purpose), slightly biting on his lower lip. He looked inviting and delicious in every aspect possible, Alexander was no match for the other, who smiled when he saw that he got to Alec. ‘’You look so damn fuckable,’’ escaped past Alec’s lips, making Magnus laugh out loud and he waggled his eyebrows.

‘’Then stop only looking and get back here,’’ said Magnus and leaned up a little bit, only enough to pull on Alexander’s shirt and pull him back down on him. Their bodies fit perfectly, Alec nestled in between Magnus’ legs for better access and he couldn’t hide his proud smirk when he heard Magnus’ soft groan when he pressed down more against him and Alec chuckled, his lips falling upon the side of Magnus’ neck and the warlock quickly tilted his head to the side. ‘’Mmm,  _ yes _ , right there,’’ mumbled Magnus, feeling his head getting a little bit foggy, because Alexander’s tongue was doing wonders against his neck. 

Gently sucking in, Alec couldn’t hold back anymore and he bit Magnus, who let out a groan of agreement.  _ More, _ that meant and Alec sucked on the skin again, leaving a very visible mark there and his eyes darkened again.  _ Good, just like that, others were going to know that Magnus belonged only to him _ . Alec  _ growled _ and Magnus was rock hard by then - he didn’t need much. It was a while since he had gotten any action  _ plus _ Alec was just driving him insane. He was almost too much and he wrapped his legs around Alexander’s hips, driving him closer against him and Alec smiled when he felt something hard pressing up against him. 

‘’Oh,  _ Magnus _ ,’’ said Alec and waggled his eyebrows.

‘’Keep going,’’ muttered the warlock desperately, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck and the demon didn’t need to be told twice. He adjusted himself a little bit and then slowly rocked his hips. Both were still  _ very _ dressed up, but that didn’t seem to matter as it was enough to be getting Magnus off. The pleasant friction between them, feeling Alexander’s strong hips moving against his was enough for Magnus as he was shaking all over. It was kind of embarrassing, if he was being completely honest, but he couldn’t help it - Alec knew exactly where to kiss and where to suck to made him completely give into the pleasure. ‘’ _ Fuck _ ,’’ said Magnus and kissed Alec desperately.

Alec’s deep chuckle made Magnus’ cock stir up in his pants even more. ‘’You sure this will be enough for you?’’ asked Alec and kissed along Magnus’ jawline, who shook his head. No, he was going to be needing much more than this, but for now… ‘’Are you sure you don’t want me to strip you, turn you over and fuck you so nice and hard?’’ asked Alec and Magnus mewled. ‘’Sure you don’t want me inside right now?’’ asked Alec and slid his hands underneath Magnus’ ass and the warlock tightened his grip around Alec.

‘’Alexander-’’

‘’Feeling the real thing would make you forget about all of your toys in a heartbeat,’’ muttered Alec into Magnus’ ear, gently nipping the earlobe and Magnus bit his lip.  _ Fuck, Alexander was really into biting _ and he was pretty sure that he liked it. ‘’Fuck, I feel like fucking you for hours,’’ he said and pressed down against Magnus harder, rolling his hips and he felt Magnus shivering in his arms. Magnus wasn’t the only one who was feeling it though, despite being dressed Alec was a mess and it would be highly embarrassing if this was going he’d reach his  _ end _ . Still, the arousal was spreading over his veins, his heart beating hard and steady.

‘’Alexander, I’m so fucking close,’’ said Magnus, his face red. Yes, it was embarrassing for him as well, but he had no self control anymore and he heard Alec chuckling into his ear again, which made him grow ever harder. 

‘’Magnus,’’ said Alec and kissed Magnus gently, his lips then travelling on the other side of Magnus’ neck and he continued trailing kissed and marks there, Magnus not complaining at all. ‘’There,  _ mine _ ,’’ growled Alec into Magnus’ ear and the warlock curled his toes because  _ fuck.  _ Yes, yes, yes. He was Alec’s. ‘’Say it, who do you belong to?’’ asked Alec, his question sounding like a command and Magnus felt his throat getting dry.

‘’Yours,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Only yours.’’

‘’That’s it, mine,’’ said Alec and then hid his face into the crook of Magnus’ neck, moaning softly as he continued rocking his hips. ‘’Mine, Magnus, I-’’

‘’Yes, yes, Alexander… I’m close, I can’t…  _ fuck _ ,’’ croaked Magnus and then his body tensed up as the pleasure was building up and he couldn’t hold back anymore, coming harder than ever, just like that… without even touching himself and he held onto Alexander tightly, who kissed him feverishly, biting onto his lower lip and Magnus felt Alexander’s hips buckling as well, shaking and  _ damn, did Alec… as well…?  _ Magnus blinked a few times and then started giggling. Alec looked horrified. ‘’Alexander?’’

‘’I… I swear I usually last much longer,’’ said Alec and sat up, shaking his head. ‘’I swear, I don’t-’’ he started, but Magnus quieted him down with a kiss.

‘’Oh, do shut up and  _ don’t _ ruin the moment,’’ said Magnus and then wrinkled his nose when he looked down. Ugh, he wished he would have taken off his pants, but well. It felt nice… more than nice and he grinned when he saw that Alec looked rather awkward. ‘’It seems we both lost control, huh?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’Yeah,’’ said Alec, but a smile soon crept up his face. ‘’Felt good, didn’t it?’’

‘’So good,’’ said Magnus and winked. 

‘’As expected, I’m a pro,’’ said Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes.

‘’Hey, Mr Pro, let’s go grab a shower,’’ said Magnus and Alec was quick to agree!

* * *

‘’Ugh, there’s someone at the door,’’ said Alec and clicked with his tongue when he heard the knocking going on from the front door. He and Magnus were just freshly out of the shower and Alec hoped that he and Magnus could get some  _ more _ alone time, but it didn’t seem that luck was going to be on his side then. Magnus popped his head out of the bathroom and groaned as well because he really wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with people. He quickly put on his robe, not really bothering to dress up and kissed Alec’s cheek.

‘’I’ll be back soon, okay?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded, but still continued sulking as he watched Magnus walk to the door. The warlock chuckled because he knew that Alec was watching after him and then he took in a deep breath, opening the door. He didn’t know who to expect, but when he saw Jace standing in front of the door he took in a deep breath and barely resisted rolling his eyes - he knew that it was too good to be true. ‘’Jace, what brings you here?’’ asked Magnus and Jace looked a bit taken back to see Magnus only in his robe.

‘’Um, can I come in?’’ asked Jace and Magnus nodded.

‘’If you must,’’ said Magnus and then invited Jace into the living room. Jace could notice that he wasn’t really welcomed - he probably walked in on  _ not _ a good time, but he really needed to tell Magnus that there had been backup from the Clave. ‘’So?’’ asked Magnus and Jace noticed that Magnus was kind of in a hurry to get him out of there.

‘’ _ Right _ ,’’ said Jace. ‘’The Clave finally decided to step in and help us out,’’ said Jace and Magnus nodded - okay, so what did Jace expect him to do about it? And why couldn’t he tell him that over the phone?! Feeling a headache coming up, Magnus tried not to roll his eyes and then he crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’I just thought that you should know,’’ said Jace and Magnus arched a brow. ‘’Helen and Aline are also-’’

‘’You came all the way here to tell me that?’’

‘’I tried calling, but you didn’t pick up,’’ said Jace and Magnus suddenly noticed that his phone had been… disconnected for  _ obvious _ reasons. ‘’I thought that you might had been busy,’’ he then said and shrugged. ‘’So I just thought I should pop by and-’’ he started, but them he trailed off when he saw Alec peeking inside of the room. Not that he was trying to be really discreet about it, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Magnus turned around and saw Alexander standing there, smiling and shaking his head. He should have known that Alec would come to check up on him.

‘’Alexander, I told you to wait for me, didn’t I?’’

‘’Yeah, but then I heard  _ him _ ,’’ grumbled Alec and went closer to Magnus. It didn’t sit well with Alec still that Jace was over and Magnus held back his laughter, but Jace looked rather confused. It seemed that he was slowly connecting the dots. Now it made more sense why Magnus was only in his robe - Alec wasn’t wearing  _ any _ clothes. And then he noticed the hickies all around Magnus’ neck…  _ Oh no.  _ Alec was going to kill him. ‘’Magnus, what does he want?’’

‘’Just here to tell us that the Clave sent some help I guess,’’ said Magnus and  _ giggled _ when Alec set next to him. 

‘’That’s all?’’ asked Alec and clicked with his tongue. ‘’Good for you, I suppose,’’ said Alec and didn’t really give Jace a chance to tell them about Helen and Aline. ‘’Anyhow, you may notice that we were kind of busy and-’’ started Alec, but Jace interrupted him by lifting up his hand and he didn’t need to be told  _ more _ . Alec was quite proud - he made it nice and clear that Magnus was  _ his.  _ Still, he wrapped his arms around Magnus and pulled him closer.

‘’Alexander,’’ giggled Magnus, but happily scooted closer to him. Now, Jace would gladly walk out and head back to the Institute, but he stayed in there as he needed to tell Magnus and Alec about his plans and after thirty painful minutes of watching the other two flirt around, his chance to shine finally came and he started slowly explaining about  _ all _ of the updates from Idris, including the descending star.

Frankly, Alec was a lot more interested into  _ that _ bit and even though Jace continued yapping away about other things, Alec’s eyes wandered over to the window, up to the sky and he… had a lot on his mind because what Jace described what had been seen in Idris, it sounded a lot like what his father described when the angels descended down on Earth before the war to help them. And that… that was what made him a lot more nervous than having Lilith on the loose. 


	12. Chapter 12

Alexander had been restless for the past few days - it had been since the day that Jace had visited them and told them about the plan. About the Clave sending their backup and about Helen and Aline. Magnus still didn’t know if it was a good idea or not, but the girls still didn’t know about Isabelle and Alec. They decided to keep it as a secret, especially after Alec and Izzy found out that one of them was the daughter of Jia Penhallow, the Consul herself. Isabelle was more than convinced that that was Jace’s plan to getting them exposed and then be imprisoned  _ again _ by the Clave  _ or worse.  _ So, that was why Jace stepped down from the idea as he didn’t want to get on Alec’s and Isabelle’s bad side again - not that he ever left it, but still. 

So, ever since that day, Magnus had noticed that Alexander had been closing off again, not talking as much and was slipping back into his defense mode, which was not taking anything seriously and it made Magnus worry, because whatever it was, it had to be pretty serious and also it saddened him - they had made such a breakthrough with Alec and for him to go back to his old ways. Then again, Magnus knew that he shouldn’t be too pushy, but it made him helpless; he just wanted Alexander to know that he was there for him, but whatever he tried, it didn’t seem to make Alec feel any more at ease and Magnus was troubled as well. Just what troubled Alexander’s heart now? 

And Alec was troubled - troubles were overflowing and making him unable to focus on anything else but himself. He knew what he was doing - shutting Magnus off and he didn’t like himself for it. But he was so used to that, to shutting people out that it was kind of hard not to do it again. Still, he wasn’t proud of it and the sheer fact that he probably hurt Magnus’ feelings just proved it to him that he and Magnus couldn’t be in a serious,  _ committed _ relationship. He didn’t want to keep on only hurting Magnus and no matter how much he cared for him, Alec was afraid that he’d keep on hurting Magnus. And that didn’t sit well with him. 

Now, Alexander wasn’t sure, but what Jace described that day sounded like an angel descending on Earth and as much as he knew about angels, he didn’t trust them at all. They tore his family apart, made his mother return back to heaven and thus leaving the kids only with their father. And Robert  _ loved _ their mother a lot, the way that he would talk about her made Alec’s heart warm up. She was a wonderful woman, Alec had a few faint memories of him, but not too much. But, unlike her, other angels were cruel - just because they fell in love they threatened to hurt Robert and the kids. Going back to heaven and promising to never walk the Earth again was the only way that the angels agreed to leave them alone. But it seemed that that was over.

The angels… they maybe figured out that he and Isabelle were back from Edom. They didn’t really help when the Clave banished them, so Alec interpreted that as a way of them siding with the Clave. Isabelle and Alexander was considered as abominations - children of a Shadowhunter and an angel. Nephilims to their cores, but judged because they were different. Maybe being sent off to Edom was a way of them getting rid of them for good - they didn’t like them to begin with. And now Alec was worried - the angels could easily tell that they were back and what if one was sent down on Earth to kill them off and- Alec swallowed and his breath was shaking. 

Alexander and Isabelle were powerful, but then didn’t stand a chance when it came to the angels - nobody did if he was being completely honest, biting on his lip and he then rubbed his forehead, looking around the loft and saw that Magnus was standing there by the balcony, looking outside it and Alec felt guilt clawing at his chest. Magnus tried talking to him before, but Alec ended up snapping at him. Yes, he end up saying some things that he wasn’t really proud of and now he didn’t know how to deal with it. Usually, he didn’t care about his actions, but it bothered him now. It bothered him a lot how he was to Magnus before because the warlock didn’t deserve all of what was being said. Magnus was trying to help him, but truth be told, Alec didn’t know how Magnus could make this right. If his worries really  _ would _ come true, Alec didn’t know how to face Magnus and tell him that-

Magnus was facing away from Alexander at the moment, giving him the silent treatment. They had a fight before - Magnus wouldn’t consider it being too big of a deal, but still - it was a fight and now he was ignoring Alexander on purpose. Though he knew that the silent treatment wasn’t going to be lasting forever - he and Alec usually made up pretty quickly. Magnus couldn’t stay angry at Alec forever and vice versa. That made things more comforting for Magnus if he was being honest because he knew that Alexander was going to stick around and not disappear on him like people usually would. Sighing, he slightly glanced over at the demon, who was now trying to think of an apology to say. But Alexander had never been good at apologising - not before becoming a demon, not after becoming one. It was really frustrating not being good with words.

Even so, Magnus was going to give him time to think about his actions and words - actions had consequences and Magnus wanted Alexander to learn that. Though, judging by the expression that he was making, Magnus could tell that Alec knew exactly what he did wrong, but didn’t seem to find the way to apologise. It made Magnus’ heart twist a little bit in pain, but he didn’t let his anger melt away this time so easily. Then again, was he even angry at Alec to begin with? No, he was just  _ annoyed, _ anger he felt none and he shook his head, sighing. He was kind of tempted to just call off this whole silent treatment off, just go over to Alec and hug him - he was weak to Alec’s puppy-eyed look that the demon didn’t even know that he was making and Magnus shook his head, forcing himself to look away. It was at that moment that Alexander stood up and slowly made his way to Magnus, who tensed up, his heart pounding and he wondered what Alec was going to do or say. 

“Magnus,” started Alec and Magnus slowly turned to him, holding in his breath and he arched a brow. “I, um, well,” said Alec and then clasped his hands together as he didn’t know where to take this apology to. He was sorry for the way he acted, but he was also kind of annoyed that Magnus was always asking so many questions. Then again, those questions were coming from a  _ good place _ , Magnus was only trying to open up a conversation and nothing more. That felt like a slap in the face to the demon and he bowed his head down. Still, forming an apology was above Alec. “Nothing,” said Alec in the end and Magnus snapped at him, his eyes widening.

“ _ Nothing _ ?” asked Magnus and crossed his arms on top of his chest. Now his annoyance was growing and he pressed his lips together. And to think that he almost gave in and forgave Alec so easily! “That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself?” asked the warlock and Alec gave him a surprised look, because Magnus raised his voice at him and that rarely happened. Recently almost never, so the demon was taken back a little bit and he blinked a few times. “I didn’t deserve that, just for the record,” grumbled Magnus. Both of them were equally stubborn when it came to it and Alec clenched his jaw. He also felt annoyed again and he clicked with his tongue.

Alec wasn’t foolish, he knew he should be keeping quiet if he didn’t want to make their argument bigger, but words were coming out before he even knew it. “Yeah, well what do you expect when you bombard me with questions all of the sudden?!” raised his voice Alexander as well and Magnus didn’t budge at all. “You know that I don’t like being questioned like that, it makes me feel uneasy and-”

“All I wanted was for you to know that you could talk to me,” said Magnus and rolled his eyes. “You know, I keep repeating it over and over again, but instead you chose to ignore me and shut me out,” said Magnus and Alec folded his arms on top of his chest. “And, quite frankly, that pisses me off and makes me angry because I thought that we were past all of that  _ I don’t trust you enough _ part,” said Magnus and then shook his head. “Here I am, trying be helpful and-”

“Stop trying to hard,” said Alec back and Magnus’ face went pale. “I know you’re here for me no matter what, okay?!” snapped Alec and then shook his head. “But excuse me if I’m not feeling comfortable enough to share every single little thing that I’m feeling with the world,” said Alec and Magnus was the one rolling his eyes again then and the eye roll pissed Alec off even more. “And why is it always  _ me _ having to open up and talk about  _ feelings _ ?!” said Alec and wrinkled his nose. “Why don’t you open up for a change and tell me how are you feeling?!”

Magnus scoffed. “Oh, yeah? You want me to know how I’m feeling?” asked Magnus, his voice still quite loud. “ _ Hurt,  _ hurt that you think I’m asking questions to annoy you and pissed off as well,” said Magnus. “And it pains me that you’re shutting me out again - I never do that to you. You my claim that I never share things,  _ but _ I do and I don’t ignore you when things get hard,” said Magnus, his voice little then and he wasn’t shouting anymore. “I don’t like it when people start shutting me out and pretending like I’m not there,” said Magnus and clenched his jaw. Alec’s anger faded into thin air and he felt  _ shame _ and anger. He was angry with himself then. Again, he made Magnus feel like-

“Magnus-” started Alec, but then a firemessage came and he didn’t get his chance to say what was on his mind, because he regretted snapping at Magnus like that  _ again.  _ And as for Magnus, he was glad that they were interrupted because he also didn’t like himself at the moment. He was pushing things with Alexander - he knew that he was being too pushy and Alec had a point. Mostly it was Alec opening up to him and it wasn’t fair. And that was exactly why he was happy that they were interrupted before he’d be able to say anything else that would make things worse. He wasn’t thinking straight and he hoped to clear his mind a little bit - his emotions were getting the best of him. 

Magnus grabbed the fire message mid-air and then took in a deep breath as he unfolded it and nodded after he read it. Alec didn’t like that they were interrupted in the middle of his apology, because he was finally able to put everything that he had to say together in his mind. Yet, he was cut off and he pressed his lips together. “It’s from Ragnor,” said Magnus as he was reading the message and he then sighed. “We’re needed at the Institute again - another mission,” said Magnus and Alec clicked with his tongue, but didn’t say anything back as a protest. Maybe he would get his chance later to properly say his apologies.

* * *

Being paired up with Underhill was either going to end up good or  _ very _ bad - Alec was still very wary of the Shadowhunter, but he said nothing as he was far too lost in his own thoughts to actually think about being on a mission with the curly blonde. Magnus and their fight was what was preoccupying his mind at the moment, so he was really quiet on their way and Underhill didn’t seem to mind the silence. It was far better than having to listen the demon constantly complaining about everything and the head of the security didn’t think of it too much either. That was until they came to the scene of the demon attacks that Underhill noticed that something was indeed brewing inside of the demon as he was being more pissy than usual. Upon walking into a puddle Alexander Lightwood, the Greater demon from Edom started having a hissy fit.

"Oh,  _ great, _ " whined Alec and looked at Underhill, who arched an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Just look what you made me do now - because  _ you _ had to be walking on that side of the sidewalk, I ended up walking into this puddle," said Alec and then looked down on his shoes. "You _ imbecile _ ," whined Alec and wrinkled his nose because his shoes suddenly felt soggy and wet and he was  _ miserable.  _ And of course the only one to blame was the Shadowhunter.  _ Duh.  _ Underhill blinked a few times upon that starting to laugh because the other was being  _ ridiculous. _ By then he was kind of used to the demon's childish tantrums but this topped it all off and he shook his head.

“A piece of advice?” asked Underhill and Alec gave him a horrified look - an advice from a  _ hunter?  _ Oh, no thank you. But he knew that he couldn’t stop the other from talking so he just went along with it and tried not to gag as the other started talking again. “Try to be professional? I don’t know what happened between you and Magnus, but there’s no need to take it out on other people,” said Underhill and Alec opened his mouth to say something back, but nothing came out because  _ Underhill was fucking right!  _ How did he know that-

“And you just  _ assume _ that something happened between Magnus and I?!” snapped Alec, but didn’t really have a good comeback, so he just stayed quiet. 

“Well,  _ duh _ ,” said Underhill and shook his head. “I won’t get into it, because you two guys’ relationship really isn’t my personal business, but as we are in the middle of a mission, do try and-”

“ _ Ah-ha! _ ” said Alec and pointed at Underhill. “So it does bother you, doesn’t it?!” asked Alec and then nodded. “Just as expected, you Shadowhunters haven’t really changed in over centuries,” said Alec, shaking his head. “It’s 2019, get with it,” said Alec and continued yapping away, while Underhill tried to tell him that it wasn’t like that, but the demon wasn’t listening. At all, so Underhill only gave up and allowed Alec to do as he pleased. “But yes, Magnus and I have that kind of a relationship,” said Alec. “So, you better stop with your prejudice and-”

“Oh, my God, will you shut up?!” snapped Underhill as well, because he had had it enough. “I don’t have any problems with you and Magnus dating. I literally  _ do not _ care,” said Underhill and started massaging his temples. “Why, oh, why didn’t I pick Jace to go with? He’s annoying, but at least he shuts up when one tells him to,” said Underhill and then shook his head. 

“All Shadowhunters are discriminatory against-”

“Do you think I don’t fucking know?” asked Underhill and Alec stopped talking. “That is exactly why my life  _ sucks _ . I barely escaped Idris because it was hell living in there being who I am. At least here I can be myself around my friends,” said Underhill and Alec was frowning, but slowly beginning to understand where this was leading off to. “Though I think that officially coming out  _ and _ finding a boyfriend shall never happen to me, but at least here I feel like I can breathe properly, so stop talking shit about things you have no idea about,” said Underhill and Alec pressed his lips together. 

Alec felt ashamed all of the sudden because he had been through that - living in Idris and trying to be someone that he wasn’t. Biting his lip, he looked up at Underhill, whose face was now red with anger and silence fell between them. “I’m sorry,” said Alec suddenly and Underhill’s eyes grew. “That was…  _ insensitive _ of me,” said Alec painfully slowly because it almost hurt to be apologising to a Shadowhunter, but apologies  _ needed _ to be said, there was no way around it. 

And Underhill was lost for words because  _ the demon _ apologised to him! If he was being honest about it, he didn’t know how to react. Still, it showed him that the demon had some sense of a conscious and that surprised him. So, he decided to be  _ kinder _ as well and he nodded. ‘’Thank you for your apology,’’ said Underhill softly and then sighed, but silence fell in between them again and Alec didn’t know what to do with himself - things had gotten really awkward and he didn’t handle awkward situations very well. Luckily for both of them,  _ demons _ started attacking and thus the two of them didn’t have the time to think about how awkward things were and by the end of the mission, Alec was slowly considering admitting to himself that maybe Underhill wasn’t  _ that _ bad. 

And by the end of the mission, Alec was quite impressed - Underhill wasn’t that bad as a fighter either. They were about to part ways, but Alec didn’t feel right about it - it just didn’t sit well with him with just going back to Magnus’ and leaving things just like that with Underhill. Especially not after what Alec accused him of being and having to struggle with such annoying and bigoted Shadowhunters himself, Alec wanted to do more than just apologise, so without even thinking about it too much just as Underhill was about to say his goodbyes, Alec opened his mouth and said: ‘’how about a celebratory drink?’’

Underhill’s mouth hung open -  _ someone really felt guilty, didn’t they?  _ Underhill arched an eyebrow, but was amused to see where this was going to lead them. ‘’A celebratory drink?’’ asked Underhill and snorted, Alec nodding.

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec and then rolled his eyes. ‘’Look, just say yes. I feel bad about what I said before, so this is what you do, don’t you?’’ asked Alec and gestured over to Underhill and then a couple of Mundanes walking by them. They didn’t see them, they were glamoured and Underhill’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline - what in the world was going on?! ‘’Share a beer and talk about… ugh, feelings,’’ said Alec and Underhill started laughing.

‘’So, you’re asking me out on-’’

‘’Oh, no,  _ no _ ,’’ said Alec and shuddered. ‘’No. Drinks. Just-’’

‘’Oh, crap, yes I didn’t mean it like  _ that. Just. No _ ,’’ said Underhill and shuddered. Alec narrowed his eyes - yeah, right, what was that supposed to mean? ‘’As…  _ friends _ ?’’ asked Underhill quickly and Alec gave him a horrified look.  _ Friends?!  _

‘’You wanna be  _ friends _ with me?’’ asked Alec and Underhill rolled his eyes.

‘’Ugh, just let’s get going then,’’ said Underhill and marched towards the nearest bar in the area, Alec following him along and he sighed. He wasn’t so sure if it was a good idea to be sharing drinks with the curly blonde, but he slowly started letting his guard down and was  _ maybe _ starting to see that not  _ all _ Shadowhunters were bad. Though he hoped that Underhill would stop giving him actually helpful advices because Alec didn’t like hearing that a Shadowhunter was right and he was in the wrong. He still had a long way to go - character building and all.

* * *

‘’Magnus, I’m sorry,’’ said Alec as soon as he was back at Magnus’, feeling kind of nervous - he didn’t like parting with him like that, especially not right before heading off over to the mission. He hoped that he was okay and as soon as he walked into the living room, Magnus came running into his arms, Alec’s eyes widening just a little bit because he didn’t expect Magnus to do so - he expected him be still upset with him, but as warlock looked up at him, he could see that he was on the verge of tears and Alec didn’t know what in the world happened to Magnus while he was out. ‘’Magnus, what-’’

‘’Thank God, you’re okay,’’ whispered Magnus and wrapped his arms tighter around Alec, holding him tightly to himself. Alec didn’t come home for  _ hours _ after the mission. He didn’t report in, no nothing, so Magnus went back home immediately, hoping to find the demon there, but Alexander wasn’t home, so as time passed, Magnus felt more and more nervous and scared. Especially after how they parted - it pained him that they parted on a fight and he felt awful. So, after he heard Alexander portalling himself back into the loft, Magnus literally ran into his arms and wouldn’t let go off him. ‘’I worried… you weren’t coming back, so I thought-’’ he said and his voice trailed off. ‘’And given how we’ve parted ways this afternoon, I didn’t-’’

‘’Magnus, I’m so sorry,’’ whispered Alec again and wrapped his wings around the warlock, who was taken back a little bit, but he finally relaxed in his arms because  _ Alexander was finally back home _ . Hanging out with Underhill gave him the time to think more about Magnus and how his apology was going to go. And what he was going to do was to just tell him the truth. The truth being that he was scared. That he was freaking out, terrified. Yes, he was a demon and he hated feeling so weak, but the thought of angels coming down to harm him or his sisters scared him. 

‘’No, I’m sorry, I’ve been pushing it way too hard and-’’

‘’No, you haven’t. I should’ve told you the truth.’’

‘’Alexander, it’s okay, you don’t-’’

‘’Magnus, I’m scared,’’ muttered Alec and Magnus’ widened and immediately stopped talking because that wasn’t what he expected Alexander to say. ‘’T-the reason why I’ve been so distant and-and so cruel to all of you is that I’m fucking terrified,’’ said Alec and bit his lip, shaking his head. That didn’t make much sense to Magnus - why would Alexander be afraid? And of whom? Lilith? But he thought that Alec said that he was stronger than her. And they’ve been making improvement, she was getting weaker, so-

‘’Of Lilith?’’

Alec bitterly laughed. ‘’No, not of Lilith,’’ said Alec and shook his head. Heck, his entire body was shaking and Magnus kept his arms around him because he had never seen Alec so scared. Then who was Alec afraid of so much?

‘’Angel, who do you fear so much?’’ asked Magnus and pulled back a little bit, gently holding Alec’s cheek and the demon looked down.

‘’Remember what Jace said?’’ asked Alec and Magnus shook his head. ‘’About something arriving in Idris…  _ descending? _ ’’ asked Alec and Magnus slowly nodded, but was still confused. ‘’I’ve heard stories about my  _ father _ , who… it’s just,’’ said Alec and shook his head. ‘’T-the thing that Jace described sounds like an angel descending on Earth,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened again.  _ An angel on Earth?  _ ‘’T-the thing is… if they’re back, they probably noticed that Izzy and I have been freed of Edom and they never liked us to begin with. So, if one of them had been sent after us to  _ get rid  _ of us, then I-’’ he said and shook his head. ‘’I can deal Lilith, but I  _ cannot _ compare to an angel. If they’re-’’

‘’Just let them try,’’ said Magus and quickly pulled Alec back close to him and Alec shuddered. ‘’They’ll first have to go through me and I can guarantee you that it  _ won’t _ be that easy,’’ said Magnus and his eyes darkened. Alec wanted to laugh and tell Magnus how stupid that sounded, but he didn’t. 

‘’Magnus, you’ll get hurt too and I don’t-’’

‘’I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you, do you hear me?’’ asked Magnus and Alec slowly nodded. ‘’Not anyone,  _ ever _ ,’’ he carried on and Alec bit onto his lip and held onto Magnus. For the second time, Alec showed him the vulnerable side of him and Magnus treated him gently. ‘’Because… I…’’ stammered Magnus and shook his head. ‘’ _ Aku cinta kamu _ ,’’ he muttered and Alec narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded important and he pulled back a bit.

‘’And that means?’’

Magnus smiled softly. ‘’I’ll tell you one day,’’ said Magnus and shook his head. ‘’For now, just come here,’’ he carried on and hugged Alexander again. 


	13. Chapter 13

They finally managed to do it - to track down Lilith and corner her. All of the hard had paid off and Magnus felt relief washing over him because _ finally _ , now they were this close to putting an end to her and there was no way that the warlock was letting her escape now. It's been another mission in the middle of New York, but they got lucky, so lucky. Isabelle, Magnus and Alec were sent on the mission alone and when put together, the trio was indestructible - nothing could stand in the middle of them and achieving their goal, Magnus panting as he was standing back a little bit. The whole thing had tired him out, he wasn't going to lie; it wasn't easy getting through to Lilith, but it was definitely worth it and he looked over Isabelle and Alexander, who were hunched down and carefully looking over Lilith, who was slowly beginning to realise that she was being outnumbered by the _ Lightwoods _and that didn't sit well with her.

Lilith was playing, she was stalling as she tried to buy herself some time, but it was too late - a fire message had already been sent over to the Institute and soon Shadowhunters would be on their way as well, so Lilith was done for and she knew it. It was really a pity that she didn't manage to do more damage to the world even though she had already caused an indescribable pain and suffering - but that was exactly why she came back in the first place. To take her revenge on the world, wanting all of them to suffer as much as she did when they killed her son, Jonathan. It wasn't the first time that the world was dealing with Lilith, but since the last time she had gotten more powerful. The pain and the lost gave her extra motivation to finish off every single one of them. Alec looked at Isabelle, who had her wicked grin on her face and they came closer to the other demon.

"Lilith, Lilith, you never seem to learn," said Isabelle and shook her head, the other looking away and she placed her hands behind her back, trying to use a spell against Izzy, but the other didn't fall for it. "Oh, Lilith, I'm honestly so disappointed," she said and shook her head. "I thought that since you were already defeated once that you'd learn, be smarter," she carried on and her bracelet turned into a whip and before Lilith was able to attack any of them, Isabelle tied her whip around Lilith's wrists, but the demon smiled. It was like she wanted Izzy to do that and Magnus narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything as Lilith was much faster and talked before him.

"I can't believe you two sided with _ them, _ " spat Lilith out and then shook her head. "With the Shadowhunters - after all the suffering and pain they've put you through, yet you side with _ them _ instead of me," she said and struggled against the restraints of Isabelle's whip. Neither Isabelle and Alexander didn't really budge at that as it was obvious what she was trying to do - she was trying to distract them, but they weren't stupid and Alec only rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, rather than siding with you," said the grumpy demon and wrinkled his nose. "I mean Shadowhunters are liars and traitors, but I still have some self respect," he carried on and Isabelle chuckled. That pissed Lilith off because they could see her facial expression turning into angry ones and she pulled on the restrains again, but wasn't getting loose. 

"It's that_ angel _ blood that you have left running through your veins," spat Lilith and suddenly both Isabelle and Alexander got very serious and Lilith smiled - _ so that was where she needed to press to get the wanted reaction from the Lightwood siblings. _She sighed and a maddened grin spread across her lips. "That's what makes both of you weak, you cowards," she carried on and Isabelle tightened her grip around her whip and then wrapped it around Lilith's whole body, rammed her against the wall and came closer to her. Alec was able to control himself better than Isabelle that time, which was a first and Magnus held in his breath. He needed to somehow meddle in and break it off before this would escalate any further - Lilith was captured, she was done for and backup was coming. But if this was going to carry on then-

"I am not weak," said Isabelle, her dark eyes out and Lilith started laughing loudly. Isabelle growled and Magnus was shocked - he had never seen Alexander's sister to lose control like that. It was usually right the opposite - it was Alec who would lose control over himself more frequently and he looked at Alec, who wanted to see his sister snap Lilith's neck so he didn't do anything to stop her. Isabelle was out for blood and Alec wasn't going to stop her, but he never let his eyes wander off of the _ bitch _ and he grinned; oh, she was _ terrified. _Alec could feel her fear and it was just so much fun to see Lilith finally bow down in fear to Isabelle and him. The power that he felt at that exact moment was addicting and he bit his lip again, arms crossed on top of his chest and his demon eyes were out and exposed as well. The situation was going out of control already.

"If you were anything but a coward, you'd already done it," said Lilith and Isabelle shuddered when she felt her breath against her cheek. "You'd break my neck already," she carried on and her eyes widened when Isabelle let out a scream and wrapped both of her hands around Lilith's neck and _ squeezed, _ making Lilith let out a strangled moan of pain and Isabelle's grin widened.

"Don't you think I will hesitate," said Izzy and smiled when she heard the bones popping under her fingers and Lilith's face was twisted in pain. But neither Alec or Izzy noticed how Lilith slipped her hands free out of the whip that was now on the floor. Magnus did though and he knew that it was all just acting, to try and get free again, but Magnus wasn't going to just stand there and do nothing. Before Lilith managed to free herself of Isabelle, he was going to make sure that she wasn't going to be going anywhere.

“Alexander, it’s a trap,” said Magnus and finally managed to snap Alec out of his trance and he looked over at Magnus and narrowed his eyes because he was totally caught off guard and didn’t know what Magnus meant by that. The warlock could see the confusion written on the demon’s face and he then pointed over to Isabelle and Lilith. “Lilith’s getting away,” muttered Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened, looking over at his sister again, who was still holding Lilith by her neck, but the whip was down and he could only watch with horror in his eyes how Lilith sent a fire ball of magic right into Isabelle and made he fly across the street, making her land on the floor with a loud thump and Alec felt chills running up his spine because Isabelle was lying there lifeless. He knew that she was okay, but just to see his sister like this-

“Izzy!” yelled Alec on top of his lungs and ran over across the street to check up on his sister. And while Alec was busy checking up on the younger Lightwood, Lilith was to walk free, Magnus faced with her alone and he felt chills running up his spine, because he had never really managed to win against a Greater Demon on his own, not ever since his father and he felt shivers going up his spine, hunching down because he wasn’t going to let Lilith escape - there was too much at stake now and he pressed his lips together. Lilith still looked out of it since the encounter with Isabelle didn’t leave her feeling too hot, but she recovered quickly and Magnus took in a deep breath. Lilith started laughing because really? Asmodeus’ bastard child was going to go against her? Pathetic and she shook her head. But it was going to be a lot of fun to see the warlock squirm in pain before she would end him off. 

“Please tell me you’re joking, little warlock,” said Lilith and shook her head, grinning because this was going to be too much fun. “But, well, at least I’ll have a little bit of fun before your friends come and then I can destroy them as well,” said Lilith as she knew that the backup was coming and that was going to be like a cherry on top really. She then rubbed her palms together and then signed Magnus to come at her. “Come on, let’s see what you’ve got,” said Lilith and Magnus shuddered - Lilith was a demon, she was immortal, so he couldn’t kill her. But he could somehow make her go back in Edom and- well, that was only if he would manage to destroy her physical appearance, but there was no way that he could do it on his own. He looked over at Alec, who was holding Isabelle in his arms and he shuddered. A little bit of help would really come in handy about now!

“It’ll be my pleasure to send you back where you belong,” said Magnus and gritted his teeth - she had caused so much pain and suffering. Turned so many good friends against them, made them fight against each other. Magnus had seen so many good people suffer because of her, so he wasn’t going to let her continue this streak of madness, this was going to be ending right here and there. So, Magnus didn’t hesitate to send dark magic towards her - using his father’s magic _ again _ and he pressed his lips together. He still didn’t like it, how it made him feel. it made him feel strong, but not in a good way. It was more of a feeling of power that also darkened his mind and soul. Just like back when he was in Edm, he wasn’t thinking straight then and he didn’t want to slip up again. But then again, hsi father’s magic was needed and Lilith started laughing when the magic hit her and she could feel _ Asmodeus. _

“Oh, you’re using your _ daddy’s _ magic, how pathetic and predictable,” said Lilith, picking herself off the floor and Magnus made a step back. “I can’t wait to send your lifeless body back into Edom, as a greeting to Asmodeus from me,” said Lilith and then smiled. “Make him know how it feels losing a child,” she then carried on and Magnus bit into his lip and then he shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to let her go into his head and he then glanced past her and saw that Alec was back, Isabelle was sitting on the side of the sidewalk. Alec placed his finger against his lip, telling Magnus not to let Lilith know what was happening behind him and he then looked back at Lilith. So, he needed to buy some time and he grinned - oh, he could do that. 

“Oh, you’ll be rejoined with my father alright,” said Magnus and then smiled. “When I send you back to Edom and trap you in there forever,” grumbled Magnus and then tried to hit her with magic again, but Lilith was quicker this time and wrapped her magic around Magnus, acting like restrains and the warlock let out a strangled groan because he was caught by surprise. Alec let out a loud scream and ran towards Magnus, but Lilith got Alec right where she wanted - as if she didn’t expect him to sneak up on her and try to attack her from the back. So, with one swift hand movement, she made Alec stumble back and then she looked at Magnus and grinned. 

“Like I said, this is going to be fun,” she said and then wiped her smeared lipstick. “You and I will have a lot of fun, _ warlock._ Maybe you not so much, it'll be rather painful experience,” she said and then before Alec knew it, both of them were gone - Lilith portalled herself and Magnus out from there.

And Alec snapped - Alec snapped, saw red with anger as he felt his heart darkening and his wings were out. He didn’t even think about it twice - once he would get his hands on Lilith, that would be the end of her. He wouldn’t send her back to Edom, he would turn her into dust, completely burn her entire existence and there would be nothing left of her. Only ashed and Isabelle shuddered when she saw the look on Alec’s face. “Lilith took Magnus,” said Alec and Isabelle covered her mouth. “I’ll kill her,” he said and then before Isabelle would get the chance to speak, Alec was gone, up in the air and she pressed her lips together. It’s been centuries since she had last seen Alec use his wings for flying and she gulped - she needed to tell the others what happened.

Alec had only one thing in mind: _ save Magnus. _Magnus was taken and Lilith was going to pay, he was going to make her pay.

* * *

“She was the only one there,” said Helen as she and Aline brought Isabelle back to the Institute. They figured out that she was a demon, but it was weird - they were told that Magnus was going to be waiting there for them with Lilith. They weren’t informed that Magnus wasn’t working alone and no matter how hard Isabelle tried to get it through their thick skulls that Magnus was actually in danger and that Lilith had him, they were convinced that she was lying. But upon bringing her back to the Institute, Jace and the others hurried over to her and the girls were finally able to see the truth - they’ve been working with two demons and it took them a while to understand what in the world was going on, but others couldn’t take the time to _ think _ . They needed to _ act _ and they needed to act quickly. 

Alexander was dangerous at the moment, Isabelle didn’t hesitate to admit that, but it was only because Magnus was in danger. Though, he would probably off anyone that would try and come in the middle of his rescue, so New York really wasn’t safe with Alec on the rampage. Isabelle knew that once Alec was provoked, he didn’t really think about his actions until his goal was achieved - so in this case, he wouldn’t care about others, only Magnus mattered. “Guys, you have to understand that Alec isn’t a bad person,” said Isabelle as she was afraid that they might want to try and hurt Alec. “If any of you try to hurt him, I swear I’ll-”

“Isabelle, don’t worry,” said Clary and shook her head. “We might not get along at all, but,” said Clary and shook her head. “You and your brother have been there for us even though you _hated every_ single second of it,” she said and Isabelle bit on her lip and then sighed. So, was the little girl continue talking down on her because she really wasn’t in the mood. “So, now let us be there for him.. well, both of you.”

“Clary is right, we won’t hurt Alec,” said Underhill and Isabelle huffed, because she was glad that it was them going after Alec and Lilith. If it were other Shadowhunters they wouldn’t really think twice about doing something stupid. Not that they would harm Alec, but he would strike back and thus probably ended their opportunity of starting over on Earth - she really didn’t want to spend her life in hiding again. It was pain and torture, shuddering. She wanted the Clave to see that they were there to _help and_ not hurt people. Though sometimes it was really hard to control themselves, but they tried. Tried to be _ better. _ Better than yesterday and the day before and thatshould count . 

“I’m coming as well,” said Jace and Isabelle sighed in relief, _because thank God. _ “Helen, Aline… I swear that we’ll tell you more later, but for now… keep your mouths shut?” asked Jace. It wasn’t an order, it was a plead and even though they weren’t too sure about everything, they just nodded. But, yes, they would need a lot of explaining to do because _ what in the world was going on in New York as of late?! _

* * *

Flying across the skies of New York, Alec’s head was spinning because he didn’t know where to go. He felt completely lost and he didn’t like feeling so lost. _ If anything happened_ to Magnus he would never forgive himself. It was because he allowed himself to be distracted when Isabelle fell down and then Lilith… Alec felt his stomach turning and he gritted his teeth, pissed off as hell and he wished to strike _ anything. _He wanted to set the world beneath him on fire, to destroy everything, but he ignored those feelings. He tried to ignore them, at least, but he wished that it was easy as it sounded. It wasn’t, it was a constant struggle and now with Magnus being gone, he couldn’t really trust himself. He was unpredictable and he knew that.

Alec tried to focus really hard on seeking out Magnus or Lilith, but he couldn’t… he could sense both of them very faintly but it wasn’t strong enough of a signal for him to be really sure what part of the city to look at. Or if they were even in the city anymore, he couldn’t tell because he couldn’t focus on anything. He was pacing around and in the end, he landed on one of the buildings and just gazed upon the city. His heart was twisted in worry and he didn’t even want to imagine what Lilith was making Magnus go through. The woman was vail and evil. And Alec felt revolted when he would even look at her, so to think that she got her claws on his lover…

Alec clenched his jaw and then took in a deep breath and then he rubbed his palms together. There was another way, but… just the thought of reaching for that thing and going back after he burned all of them off and… Alec looked around and ran his fingers through his hair, taking in a deep breath and then he clenched his jaw. Despite all of it, Magnus was more important than his own feelings at the moment. But still, the fact that he’d use his angelic powers over the demonic ones hurt him to the core. It really did, but it was his only and last resort, one he swore to never use it again, but-

With a shaky hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Stele. The only and one reminder he had left of his father and he then started spinning it in his hands - all it would take was one rune. _ One _ rune, tracking rune and he would be probably able to track Magnus or Lilith. Alec huffed and then looked around, biting into his lip. Isabelle was probably at the Institute, but given how unsuccessful then were before with their tracking and all… Alec couldn’t wait for _ weeks _ again, he needed to be reunited with _Magnus now. _But would a rune even work on him now? Given that he was a demon and- yet there were still traces of angelic blood within him, Lilith was right before.

A normal Shadowhunter wouldn’t be able to track Lilith down, but Alec, using his demonic and angelic powers at the same time, would give him an advantage, hands shaking because he was scared. He was terrified as he felt physically sick down to his core, but just the thought of Magnus being hurt was enough to make him roll up his sleeve and with one determined look on his face, Alec pointed his Stele into his skin and let out a loud scream as he started drawing the Tracking rune - it hurt. It burned like hell but it _ was working _ . The rune was soon finished, Alec shaking all over and he fell over, going onto his knees as he tried to lessen the pain in his arm, closing his eyes and then tried the tracking _method again. _

Holding onto his arm, he let his eyes close and he soon saw Magnus - a faint picture, but it was him. In a dark building, tied up and Alec snapped back to reality. The connection was there for barely a second or two, but Alec knew where Magnus was and he was headed over to there in a heartbeat. Not noticing that his runed arm was now bleeding, he snapped his fingers and portalled over to Lilith’s lair.

* * *

“Ah, so this is where you’ve been hiding for all of these months,” spat Magnus out and shook his head. “I think you should redecorate - the whole _ burnt _ look had been over since the middle ages,” said Magnus and then sighed. “You’re centuries off date to-” he started, but Lilith turned to him and then laughed.

“You’re just like your father, yapping away to buy yourself some time, but it won’t get you out of this situation, warlock,” said Lilith. “First I’ll have a bit of fun of you and then I’ll slowly dissemble you - a limb by limb,” she said and ran her nail over Magnus’ cheek gently and the warlock wanted to throw up. _ Ew, it would be less painful to be just killed if he was being honest. _Yes, he was scared, but he wasn’t going to allow for that to show on his face. He had more pride than that and he just scoffed. 

“Can you just kill me please?” asked Magnus and Lilith’s face darkened.

“Oh, I will,” said Lilith. “Maybe I should invite your father to watch as I torture you,” she said as she carried on and Magnus rolled his eyes. If she thought that using his father against him was going to work on him, he had news for her - it wasn’t and he just shrugged.

“Doubt he’d respond, but you can try,” said Magnus. “How is the old man anyway? I haven’t seen him in centuries. Maybe he finally built a roof over his palace. It was really a turn off,” said Magnus and was having quite the kick out of it - to see Lilith be so annoyed over such little things brought his extra pleasure and he wished to keep on going for a bit longer. 

“You just never know when to shut up, don’t you?” she yelled and then pointed her sharp nails against Magnus’ throat and the warlock finally stopped talking. “That’s more like it,” said Lilith and then smiled. “Hmm how about if I,” she started and scratched the side of Magnus’ neck with her nail and it wasn’t that hard for her to draw blood, Magnus twisting his face in pain and he shuddered because he knew that he was bleeding, the grin on Lilith’s face widened when she saw the blood and Magnus swallowed thickly. It didn’t even hurt that much, but he didn’t like the look on her face. 

Lilith licked across her lower lip, but suddenly something threw Lilith off of him and his eyes opened again, looking over to the left and his jaw dropped when he saw Alexander… so fast?! Somehow he managed to locate him even though it’s been always failing before that? Or maybe it was one of Lilith’s spells playing mind tricks on him?! Magnus wasn't sure but he wasn't falling for it anytime soon because he didn't want to get his hopes up, it would be far too soon for them to find him and he pressed his lips together. But Alec really was there and as soon as he laid his eyes upon Magnus, he stopped holding back and he ran right to Magnus, Lilith still on the floor and he gently touched Magnus' cheek.

"Alexander?" asked Magnus because the touch felt real and Alec gave him a weak smile and he nodded. He looked really pale and Magnus perked up. It_ was _Alexander, but how? Magnus wasn't sure, but Alec looked really out of it and he pressed his lips together. Freed of Lilith's shackles, he finally dared to move and he shook his head. "But how… how did you find me?" asked Magnus. "It's really you, isn't it?" asked Magnus just to be sure and Alec nodded, wearing a weak smile on his face. The rune wore him down, he felt tired and his arm felt as if it was being repeatedly being set on fire.

However none of that mattered when it came to Magnus and he wrapped his arms around Magnus and pulled him into an embrace. "I'll always find you," whispered Alec into Magnus' ear and he then let his head rest against Magnus' shoulder and the warlock could feel him slumping down. What happened to his angel?! But before he could ask, Alec pulled back and saw blood. On Magnus' neck and his eyes darkened again.

"She hurt you," said Alec.

"I'm okay," said Magnus. "She didn't really… Alexander," said Magnus, but Alec wasn't listening and despite being weak on his feet, he made his way over Lilith, who was picking herself off the floor. Alec didn't give her the chance though and before she managed to attack, he lashed with everything that he had in him, Magnus' eyes widening when the scene unfolded in front of him.

Dark, black flames circled around Lilith and trapped her in place, letting out a loud scream and Alec smiled because he could feel her pain, he was burning her like she deserved it and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, feeling Lilith wanting to fight back, but she couldn't do much. Magnus quickly came over to them and while Alexander worked on keeping Alec in place, Magnus decided on working on a portal over to Edom, acting quick and he made sure it was a one day ticket to there. Lilith _wasn't coming_ back ever again, that was if she would manage to survive Alec's attack. She was slowly turning into her demon form and before she managed to lash out again, Magnus stepped in, finally opening up the portal - it was easier. He wasn't summoning anyone, just opening the portal and he muttered the incantation, flames sparking up from the pentagram and Alexander looked at him.

"Alexander, _now,_" he yelled and Alec nodded, shoving Lilith through the portal and if their eyes didn't deceive them, they swore they could see Lilith slowly turning into ashes. But it didn't matter anymore - _ she was gone and defeated. _And as soon as Lilith was gone, Alec collapsed on the floor, Magnus' heart falling into the pit of his stomach as he ran over to the demon's side, who was on the floor, his face pale and Magnus shuddered, gently holding Alec's face and he started shaking his head. There was blood that wasn't his, it was Alexander's! Magnus' heart stopped beating. "You're bleeding, Alexander why-"

"It's the rune," croaked Alec and looked down, Magnus shocked when he saw a tracking rune on Alec's forearm and tears welled up because he couldn't even imagine- 

"Oh, Alexander, why-"

"I couldn't find you," said Alec softly and swallowed thickly. "I got desperate so I used my Stele," he carried on and winced in pain. "It worked. You're safe, that's all that matters t to me," he said and smiled. But Magnus was on the verge of tears - Alec drew a rune on himself?! How did that even work? He technically burned the runes off, but maybe they still… Magnus shuddered and it didn't matter. _ He needed to help Alec. _The rune was weakening him and he needed to take Alec to-

"Catarina will be able to help us," said Magnus and bit on his lip. "Come on. Angel, I'll get us over there," said Magnus and then ended up picking Alexander off the floor, quickly creating a portal over to his friend's place. Catarina was a healer, so she was going to know how to help Alec; she had to.

Three hours later and finally out of danger, Alec was resting on the bed next to Magnus, who found himself watching back into Alexander's eyes and silently tears started rolling down his face. He loved Alexander, he loved Alexander so much that it hurt. Alec smiled and kissed the warlock gently.

"I love you too, Magnus," said Alec back and Magnus only buried his face into Alec's chest.


	14. Chapter 14

‘’Alexander, how are you feeling?’’ asked Magnus and kept his eyes on Alec. He had been watching over him for hours now and Alec slowly moved his head to the side and he moaned out on discomfort. Catarina was able to make Alec stable, but there was no telling in what the rune was going to bring. Catarina couldn’t tell, all she could ease the pain - but one thing was for sure. She was able to guarantee them that Alec was out of severe danger, so that was enough for Magnus. As long as Alexander’s life wasn’t in danger anymore, he was okay, but the worry was still written on Magnus’ face as it seemed that the pain returned to Alexander’s arm. Luckily, Magnus brought the potion from Catarina’s place, the potion she brewed especially for Alec, to ease the pain and he quickly reached over for the flask. ‘’Are you in pain again?’’ asked Magnus and Alec swallowed thickly.

‘’Mmm, arm hurts again, yes,’’ said Alec and then slowly shifted onto his side. But it wasn’t as bad as it was before - Catarina was able to help him and he was grateful to her for that. Magnus’ friends were good people and he looked down a little bit. ‘’I’ll be fine, though,’’ said Alec and Magnus still insisted on him drinking up the potion. ‘’I can handle this pain,’’ said Alec and then just pushed the flask away gently. ‘’I know how to handle pain, it makes me feel alive actually,’’ said Alec and then weakly smiled. That was just awful, though Magnus and he wasn’t going to let Alexander be in pain; not on his watch.

‘’Yeah, I don’t care what you’re used to, you’re drinking this whether you like it or not,’’ said Magnus and Alec arched a brow. ‘’I can’t stand the thought of you being in pain, so drink up, you stubborn angel,’’ said Magnus and Alec dryly laughed, but in the end he ended protesting and drank a few small gulps of the potion and then laid back down, Magnus smiling as he curled up next to Alexander again. He couldn’t leave the bed, he had to watch over Alec, who was now glancing down upon his arm and he didn’t like how it looked - the rune. It was there, dark  _ red _ . It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but he could feel that the rune didn’t belong to him. He was no longer what he used to be and he was biting on his lip. How would he get it off this time? Burning again? He doubted Magnus would like that thought and even if he’d do it in secret, it would break Magnus’ heart, so that was out of option now.

‘’So, you’ll be my babysitter now?’’ asked Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes, but then Alec cracked a smile and Magnus just rolled his eyes. ‘’I mean, you won’t hear me complaining, you can keep on pampering me forever,’’ said Alec and then his voice trailed off a little bit as he felt Magnus’ hand on his cheek. He was checking his temperature and it seemed that Alec wasn’t burning up anymore, which was definitely a good sign and he then pressed his lips upon Alec’s forehead, just in case and it seemed that Alec’s temperature really was back to normal, placing a kiss upon Alexander’s lips as well and he then sighed happily. 

Both of them needed  _ this _ \- just laying next to each other, cuddling. It was healing for both of them, they’ve been through a lot in the last few hours and neither of them wanted to leave the room. Alexander would gladly spend his time like that. The last time that he was injured, Magnus had to leave for the mission, but now with Lilith gone, there was  _ peace _ in the city for the first time in months and while the Shadowhunters worked to handle other things, Magnus and Alec could finally spend some time for only themselves. No Shadowhunters, no other demons attacking them, no nothing…  _ just them.  _ And Magnus smiled softly, gently caressing Alexander’s cheek with his thumb and he shook his head. 

‘’The amount of times I’ve gotten injured through the last few weeks,’’ said Alec, wanting to make a joke, but it was falling flat. ‘’It’s more than I’ve gotten hurt in all of the centuries combined,’’ he said, trying to laugh and make Magnus smile as well, but the warlock wasn’t smiling - how could he? He didn’t like Alexander being hurt just for his sake and Alec clicked with his tongue. ‘’Oh, smile, it was a joke,’’ said Alec, but Magnus shook his head.

‘’I don’t like you getting hurt for me,’’ said Magnus and then shuddered. ‘’I don’t… want you to get seriously hurt just because of me,’’ he carried on and then looked down. Magnus felt guilt clawing at his chest even if he knew that he wasn’t the one to blame. Nobody was - when you loved someone for real, you’d do anything to protect them and keep them safe. If roles were reversed, Magnus was very well aware that he’d be doing the same thing to keep Alexander safe, so he shouldn’t be running his mouth right now, but still. ‘’Be more careful in the future, okay?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’I’ll try,’’ said Alec and made a little pause. ‘’It’s not like I got hurt on purpose, you know,’’ said Alec and then pressed his lips together, making a little pause. ‘’I never go out of my way to help anyone really, but,’’ said Alec and then bit his lip a little bit and took in a deep breath. ‘’I can’t help myself when it comes to you,’’ said Alec and scooted closer to Magnus, who was now just gazing upon Alexander’s profile. ‘’I haven’t felt so attached to anyone in centuries, so-’’ said Alec, but then his voice trailed off and Magnus remembered what Alexander told him before. That he  _ loved him _ . He felt his heart fastening a little bit and he went softly smiled.

‘’I know, I’d be the same,’’ said Magnus and then took in a deep breath. ‘’The-the thing you confessed before,’’ he said and Alec turned his head to Magnus again and he hummed. ‘’You meant it?’’ asked Magnus. He didn’t know why he was asking, it was obvious that Alexander loved him in return as well. He  _ risked his life _ for him just now, but Magnus wanted to hear it again. It’s been decades since someone confessed love to him and he wanted to hear it again. Alec shifted his gaze a little bit as he didn’t like talking about feelings too much and it’s been going on for hours now, but he just nodded. 

‘’I did,’’ said Alec and then made a pause. ‘’I do love you,’’ said Alec and then proudly smiled, laughing softly and Magnus perked up - why was he laughing for now?! ‘’I can’t believe it that I actually confessed first,’’ he said and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

‘’Um, sorry to burst your bubble, but I actually said it first,’’ said Magnus and Alec shook his head.

‘’You didn’t,’’ said Alec and tried to remember if Magnus had told him that he loved him before, but he couldn’t remember. He was pretty sure that something like that wouldn’t leave his memory so easily, so he was pretty sure that Magnus had never actually told him that he loved him. 

‘’I did,’’ said Magnus and felt his cheeks reddening a little bit. ‘’I told you....  _ aku cinta kamu _ , remember?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded. Right, so it meant that! He was right - it did mean something important and Alec felt his smile spreading and he then happily hummed. ‘’But, yes, I do love you,’’ said Magnus just when Alec thought that he couldn’t be happier, taking Alexander’s hand into his own and linked their fingers together. Magnus slowly brought Alec’s arm up and his eyes fell upon the angelic rune, the burnt rune, the scars still left behind and Alec noticed where Magnus was looking. Feeling his heart fasten, Alec wanted to pull his arm away, but Magnus didn’t allow him to do so. 

‘’Magnus, don’t-’’

‘’Alexander, who did this to you?’’ asked Magnus and Alec looked away. He couldn’t tell Magnus that he did this to himself, he was… Gritting his teeth, Alec closed his eyes and he gasped when he felt Magnus pressing in a little kiss on top of the scar and Alec’s eyes snapped open. Alec kept looking away for a long time until he finally managed to look at Magnus again. The warlock didn’t say anything, he waited for Alexander, allowing him to take his time. But his heart was broken for him, just the sheer thought of someone burning the runes off of him, he- ‘’Is this what happened after the trail Izzy mentioned?’’ asked Magnus and Alec looked at him, surprised. He seemed shocked because he didn’t mention anything about a trial to Magnus himself, but yes… it made sense that Isabelle did. 

‘’Nobody,’’ muttered Alec.

‘’Alexander, darling-’’

‘’Nobody did, I burned them off myself,’’ said Alec and then took in a deep breath when he heard Magnus let out a surprised gasp. Alexander did this to  _ himself?!  _ It was far worse than he could have even imagined it and he wanted to say something, but nothing came out and Alec laughed dryly. ‘’And this is why I didn’t want to tell you,’’ muttered Alec and Magnus shook his head. Self-harm? He was no stranger to it, but this was just-

‘’Alexander, why?’’ asked Magnus and shook his head. ‘’I don’t-’’

‘’Because,’’ said Alec and then gritted his teeth, shaking his head. ‘’My father raised Izzy and me as Shadowhunters said that it would help us to disguise as ones,’’ said Alec and then made a little pause. ‘’I… it was working for quite a long time. That and we were mostly at home - homeschooled, couldn’t really go out a lot of times and while it wasn’t the ideal life, it was to keep us safe,’’ said Alec. ‘’Now I understand that very well, but Iz and I didn’t really listen to all of the times and would sneak out,’’ he said and pressed his lips together. ‘’Is how I met  _ him _ ,’’ said Alec and Magnus bit his lip. 

‘’It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about him,’’ said Magnus - he really didn’t want to hear it himself either and Alexander nodded. Oh, yes, he wasn’t going to talk about that asshole now. 

‘’I won’t,’’ said Alec and sadly smiled. ‘’But what I want to say is - because he kept us so hidden, we didn’t get to experience just how fucked up the world really was. Made us believe that people were  _ good _ when in reality, there are far more bad people than good on the world,’’ said Alec and shook his head. ‘’I was naive and young, so I made mistakes, which resulted in where I am now,’’ said Alec and shuddered. ‘’I didn’t have any say in what happened to Isabelle and me, so there was the  _ trial, _ yes,’’ said Alec and laughed dryly yet again. ‘’And it was rigged, of course, it was. The Clave had always been corrupt, so of course,’’ said Alec. ‘’ _ He _ made them believe that I was a half-demon, that tempted him into… well… the Shadowhunters have always been homophobic and it was much worse back then so… of course they sided with him,’’ said Alec and shuddered. Magnus swallowed - he felt like crying again.

‘’I know, a bunch of judgemental assholes,’’ said Magnus and shook his head. ‘’I’m so sorry, I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been,’’ he carried on and wrapped his arms around Alexander again.

‘’So, the trial came and they… pissed me off,’’ said Alec, shaking his head. ‘’Pissed me off to that extent that I lost control over my angelic powers… the magic,’’ said Alec and then closed his eyes as that scene unfolded again in front of his eyes. ‘’But Shadowhunters don’t have magic, do they?’’ asked Alec and Magnus noticed his lower lip trembling. ‘’So they lashed out on me with everything they had, they were convinced I was a  _ demon _ for real,’’ said Alec and then made another pause. ‘’Instead of imprisonment for life, I was condemned to be banished off to Edom - is where demons belong, don’t they?’’ he asked and Magnus shook his head.

‘’You’re  _ not _ a demon, Alexander, even now, you’re nothing close to a demon,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Neither is Isabelle,’’ he said and then bit his lip - how did Isabelle come in all of this?

‘’I know, but we were to them,’’ said Alec. ‘’Upon hearing what happened at the trial, she… lost it. She went to the Clave and showed them her powers as well… it’s… was sentenced the same as me. I told her to run away, told her to get away while there was still time for her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She stuck around and-and was sent to Edom together with me,’’ said Alec and bit his lip. ‘’A part of me is happy that I wasn’t alone, but it’s selfish to think like that,’’ said Alec. ‘’She could’ve been happy up here, but because of  _ me _ -’’

‘’Alexander, it’s  _ not _ your fault,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Not your fault at all. Never was, never will be. Please understand that,’’ said Magnus and Alec bit his lip. ‘’Isabelle went with you because she wanted - it was her own choice. She would never leave you alone and you’d do the same for her, right?’’

‘’Yes.’’

‘’There, you see,’’ said Magnus.

‘’But still,’’ said Alec and then his voice trailed off. ‘’S-so once in Edom,’’ muttered Alec and then shuddered. ‘’I resented myself - resented  _ everything _ about me. The Shadowhunter side, I wanted to wipe away any part that was… the race that betrayed me and Isabelle,’’ said Alec and then made another pause, because he needed to take a breath. ‘’So, I burnt the runes, burnt them all and no-no matter how much that hurt, I felt liberated,’’ said Alec, and Magnus was on the verge of tears again.

‘’Don’t-don’t do this to yourself again now,’’ whispered Magnus and shook his head, touching Alec’s other arm and the demon shifted a bit. ‘’I’ll help you find a way to get the rune off, I swear, just… don’t hurt yourself anymore, please,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded, promising that he wouldn’t. ‘’Promise me, yes?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’Now I would never,’’ said Alec and Magnus pressed his lips together.

‘’I know how it is to be in a dark place, I’ve been there myself as well personally,’’ muttered Magnus and then shuddered a little bit because he didn’t like thinking about his past personally as well. So, he knew how it felt for Alexander to be talking about it now that it was all over and behind him. ‘’So - if you ever get there, come to me and  _ tell _ me,’’ said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded. 

‘’I promise,’’ said Alec and then a faint smile spread across his lips. ‘’Besides, it would be a shame now,’’ he said and Magnus arched an eyebrow. ‘’I mean I have such an amazing warlock, that is in love with me… head over heels,’’ said Alec and then nodded. ‘’Though it took him a while to realise it - you really were playing hard to get, weren’t you?’’ he asked, trying to make the mood again better in the room. That time it worked, sort of, because a little smile spread across Magnus’ lips and Alec smiled brighter as well. ‘’I did like the challenge, though,’’ said Alec and winked.

‘’Oh, so  _ I _ was a challenge?’’ asked Magnus and laughed softly. ‘’It was a challenge to deal with your whiny ass as well,’’ said Magnus, not holding back at all and Alec only started laughing, but he then just shrugged it off and instead of allowing Magnus to list more things that annoyed about him, he rather placed his lips on top of Magnus’ and kissed him deeply, distracting him. Magnus knew what Alexander was trying to do, but he didn’t really mind it and just kissed Alec back. 

‘’Oh, I’m sorry?’’ asked Alec and Magnus started laughing.

‘’You say  _ I’m sorry _ way too easily these days,’’ said Magnus and gently pinched the tip of Alec’s nose and the demon hummed.

‘’Yeah, I guess it became easier to say it,’’ said Alec and then bit his lip. ‘’That drink with Underhill was really eye-opening,’’ said Alec and Magnus snapped his head up -  _ Alexander went out for drinks with Underhill?!  _ Exactly when did that happen?! Magnus didn’t want to admit it, but maybe he felt just a little bit of jealousy spreading through him - he and Alexander hadn’t gone for their first date  _ yet _ because something always came in the middle, but here he was now learning that Alexander had gone out on a  _ drink _ with another man, who was Underhill of all people?! Magnus liked Underhill, they were friends, but the hunter was quite handsome, so Magnus felt jealous. Just a little bit.

‘’You went out with Underhill?’’ blurted out Magnus and Alec hummed and nodded in agreement - oh so he was just  _ admitting _ it easily like that?! Magnus grumbled under his breath and then took in a deep breath. ‘’The time when we had that mission together - I fucked up. I really hurt his feelings and I wanted to make it up to him, so we went to this bar or something and talked about…  _ feelings _ ’’ said Alec and shuddered a little bit. ‘’He gave me a lot of good advice though, so I’m trying to follow them,’’ said Alec and Magnus felt a frown settling in between his eyebrows. ‘’Is something wrong?’’ asked Alec all of a sudden because Magnus was silent and Alec didn’t know what happened.

‘’ _ No _ ,’’ said Magnus, but the tone of his voice said a completely different story. ‘’So,’’ he said and took in a deep breath. ‘’You just happened to went out on  _ one _ drink with Underhill and now you’re comfortable in apologising?’’ asked Magnus and then gritted his teeth. ‘’Just like that, after  _ one _ drink with him?’’ he carried on and Alec didn’t know what was happening. He had confusion written all over his face as Magnus continued scowling. ‘’Awesome.’’

‘’Magnus?’’

‘’And we didn’t even get to go on our first date yet, so-’’

Alec’s jaw dropped when he realised what was happening -  _ Magnus was jealous.  _ Oh, he was so jealous and Alec perked up. ‘’You are jealous,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened, shaking his head.  _ No, that was ridiculous, he didn’t get jealous.  _ ‘’But you  _ are.  _ You are, you’re actually jealous!’’ said Alec and Magnus didn’t look how happy he looked with himself. So what if he was jealous?! It was  _ normal _ , when- 

‘’So? I’m allowed to be jealous. Since I’m yours, then I get the right to be jealous,’’ stated Magnus and his words made Alec look way too happy. ‘’Stop laughing,’’ he then carried on but smiled when Alec kissed his cheek.

‘’That you are, only mine,’’ said Alec and then kissed Magnus on top of his lips. Just as they were in the middle of exchanging kisses, there was a loud pop being heard from the living room and Magnus was catapulted onto his legs, because he had no idea who in the world would just portal into his loft, through all of the wardings, but then he heard their voice and he sighed in relief - it was Isabelle.

‘’Magnus, Alec, where are you?’’ they heard and Alec slowly got up into a sitting position. After Magnus took care of Alexander and brought him home, he sent the others a fire message, explaining to them what went down - that Lilith was defeated for good, how he and Alec took care of her. Also, he mentioned that Alec got injured and that was why he needed to be alone with him and not with the others. Isabelle was with Jace and the others when they got the message and headed back as soon as possible. She was still needed there as there were still a few of the rouge demons wandering the city. Also, she helped others to close the rift for good. As soon as she was free, though, she portalled over to Magnus’, sick with worry.

‘’In here,’’ said Magnus and Isabelle quickly opened the door and glanced around the room, her eyes falling on her older brother, who was laying in bed and she literally ran over to him. She was a mess when she heard that her brother was injured so much that he needed  _ help _ was when her world started to crumble, she wasn’t going to be okay until she’d see Alec. But now that she saw him, she felt a lot better, wrapping her arms around her big brother and just held him close, Alec hugging her back and Magnus smiled.

‘’You’re okay,’’ muttered Isabelle. Alec smiled.

‘’Of course, I’m a badass after all,’’ said Alec happily and waggled his eyebrows. Magnus felt that maybe they wanted the moment alone, so he decided to head out.

‘’I’ll head out for a little while, give you two the time to catch up and-’’

‘’No,’’ said Izzy and looked over to the warlock, tears on her cheeks and she sniffled. ‘’Stay,’’ she carried on and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘’I… you saved Alexander’s life…  _ again _ , so stay. I… need to know what happened and… don’t want you to think that you’re unwanted,’’ she said and Magnus hummed - truly, the Lightwoods had come a long way since being summoned up. 

So, Magnus stayed.

* * *

**New York**

An angel landed on the rooftop, gazing upon the city. The angel’s wings were illuminating in the moonlight, the cold breeze on the evening welcoming their face as their eyes kept looking down. They finally made it - it’s been a journey, but they’ve finally managed to locate the city. New York, the city that was recently under demon attacks. The angel could feel it - Lilith was sent back to Edom. But demonic activities weren’t the only things that they could sense.

The angels sensed two rather unusual beings as well - two beings that possessed angelic and demonic blood but weren’t Seelies. They weren’t fallen angels either - they were something that intrigued them. Something that told the angel this had been what they’ve been looking for. Not for weeks since roaming the Earth, but for  _ centuries.  _ And they were so  _ close _ , they could feel them, a smile spreading across the angel’s face. 

The angel’s smile widened.

‘’I’ve finally found them,’’ said the angel and looked across the city again. Somewhere in here, the two of them were hiding and the angel had no more restrains - they  _ were _ going to find them. The angel wasn’t going to allow anything to come in between finding  _ them _ . Nobody nor anything was coming their way -  _ anyone coming in the way was going to pay.  _

_ A great price.  _

  
  



	15. Chapter 15

“And this, Alexander, is called a club,” said Magnus, holding Alexander’s hand in his own as he was trying to get Alec to visit his club, Pandemonium. It’s been a while since Magnus had it opened - with all of the attacks going on, he decided to keep it closed for the time being. It didn’t feel fitting to be running the club with all of the demon attacks going on, but since Lilith had been gone for good, Magnus finally decided to reopen it, doing even a little bit of redecorating around it because he wanted to have a clean slate to start with it - a new beginning, if you might. He didn’t want to be reminded of how things were before the attacks, so the redecorating was kind of therapeutic for him. _ Plus _, he wanted to show it off to Alexander; the demon was finally well enough to leave the bed and their first official date was going to be happening right at his club. So, Magnus felt extra pressure to leave Alexander speechless with his place. 

Alec was about to say back a snarky commenting, wanting to let Magnus know that he knew very well what a _ club _ was, but in the end he didn’t have the heart to spoil the mood. Magnus really looked excited about the evening and Alec was feeling excited as well. Though, he didn’t know how to really relax after everything that happened - his guard was still up. Even though Lilith was gone now, there was still another thing that bothered Alec. The _ angel _ that had descended down on Earth, though Magnus tried telling him that it was probably something else. If there was an angel walking the Earth, Magnus was pretty sure that _ someone _ would have noticed it by then. Magnus was pretty sure that it was nothing and slowly, but gradually, Alec was starting to believe the warlock - that maybe he was being a bit paranoid. Just what were the chances that _ an angel _ would descend down on Earth _ again _?! They weren’t really known to be doing that a lot, so maybe… it was just him being too worried again. 

Alec didn’t tell Isabelle about his worries, about an angel being on Earth since he wasn’t sure if there even was one. He didn’t want her to worry, especially after all they’ve been through, so he kept that part hidden to himself. Well, Magnus knew, but he promised not to tell anyone and Alec was glad about that. That he had someone to trust and he then sighed, trying to loosen up a little bit. His eyes travelled down, to the tracking rune on his forearm - it was still there. Alec didn’t have the heart to burn it off, hoping that it would disappear on its own, but it wasn’t. A few days later and it was still there. But he was slowly starting to feel like his old self. Though the rune would still sting him every now and then, which worried him. There was something going on within him, but he didn’t know what. Though, he told Magnus about it and the warlock promised him to look into it. But for now, all of that was forgotten - for now, it was just them. Just Magnus and Alec in the club, trying to have a good time. 

Alec was no stranger to clubs - when he would be summoned on Earth in the past, those were the places where he went out to seek pleasure and comfort - physical comfort. He took in a deep breath and then he looked at Magnus, who was happily humming along the song that was playing in the background and he was dragging Alexander inside, excited to show him off the place. And Alec was impressed, because the place looked quite _ banging _, the lights were dim, the dance floor was filled with people of Downworlders and Shadowhunters, all pressed together, sweaty bodies moving together as one as they all went into a frenzy as the climax of the song came and Alec smirked - oh, yeah, this was totally his scene and he gazed at Magnus, who gave him a soft smirk. 

“You said you own this place?” asked Alec and Magnus happily nodded. “It really looks awesome around here,” said Alec and Magnus felt his cheeks redden a little bit - it wasn’t like he spent the entire day prepping the place only for Alexander’s arrival. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but that was what happened and he was now patting himself on the back - _ Alexander was excited to be there and he liked the place! _

“Should I go grab us a couple of drinks?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded. The warlock excitedly clasped his hands together and then told Alec to wait by the empty table. The plan was to have a round of drinks and then go dance for a little bit. It sounded like a normal date to Magnus and Alec just did as he was told, going over to the empty area, but his eyes were on Magnus, who was now at the bar, ordering them a couple of his famous cocktails that were now served at the Pandemonium as well - he made some adjustments to the menu as well!

Alec didn’t like it - he didn’t like how long it was taking Magnus by the bar. He was chatting up with the bartender, a handsome vampire. Soon, he was approached by another person - a pretty werewolf woman and Alec was pressing his lips together because he did not like how jealous he was. They were Magnus’ friends, Magnus owned the place, so of course it made sense that he, as an owner, of the place would have to be on good terms with everyone. Also, Magnus was the _ High Warlock _ , so that meant that he was also very well known in general, Alec gritting his teeth when he noticed that the vampire made Magnus giggle and he then looked around. _ Ugh. _The feelings sparked from within and he then shuddered - he amount of possession he still felt for Magnus scared him, a growl escaping past his lips and he then took in a deep breath.

“They’re his friends, Magnus knows many people, people like him because he is kind to them,” said Alec, trying to reason things for himself because he didn’t like himself like that. Those feelings weren’t present before Edom, so he knew that they came from a very dark place and he was biting on his lip. And, yes, Magnus was still _ his, _he told him so himself, a little sigh escaping past Alec’s lips as he was trying to calm his feelings down a little bit, because Magnus was coming back, a wide smile on his face and Alec smiled again. 

“Sorry, it took a while,” said Magnus and grinned. “I’ve ran into some acquaintances of mine that I haven’t seen in a while,” said Magnus and then rubbed the back of his neck. “That is Maia,” he said and Alec nodded, trying to pretend like he didn’t care, but he still had his eyes on the werewolf, who was now chatting up with her friends and Magnus cracked a smile. “And Marcel’s just an employee,” carried Magnus on and then hummed. “Though he mixes some mean cocktails, by the recipe of yours truly,” said Magnus and then winked, Alec’s face brightening and then he managed to move on without even voicing it out. _ It was an improvement _ and Alec knew that Magnus technically wasn’t _ his. _Magnus was his own person and Alec bit his lip, but took the glass of cocktail and made a little toast with Magnus.

“To us?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled.

“To us,” replied the warlock and winked, Alec taking a few big gulps of his drink and he hummed in delight - it really was yummy, just like the cocktails he had at Magnus’ and he then looked around the place. Alec’s eyes were on the dance floor and he then glanced back at Magnus, smiling a little bit. Magnus cocked his head to the side when he noticed that Alexander was looking his way and he chuckled back. “Yes?”

“How about a dance?” asked Alec impatiently and Magnus glanced over at the dance floor and then back at Alec, who was looking down at him and waiting for an answer. The look in Alexander’s eyes was _ begging _ him to say yes and how could Magnus ever possibly deny Alec of a dance? Besides, he wanted to dance with his demon as well and he placed his drink down and then nodded. 

“I thought you’d never ask,” said Magnus and winked. Alec’s eyes lit up and he didn’t waste the time anymore, quickly getting onto his legs and then he offered his hand to Magnus, who waggled his eyebrows. “Oh, such a gentleman,” joked Magnus and Alec only rolled his eyes, but in the end grinned back and pulled Magnus behind him as they made their way to the dance floor through the crowd. As soon as Alec found them an empty spot, his arms were around Magnus, pulling him closer and the warlock let out a loud gasp when their bodies were suddenly pressed up together and he then grinned back, because he definitely liked the way Alexander was thinking.

“Now watch and be impressed,” said Alec, confident and Magnus arched a brow, but the smile never left his face, dragging his tongue over his lower lip as Alec suddenly spun him around, so that Magnus was now pressed against him with his back and he shuddered a little bit as he felt Alexander’s strong and taller body towering over him. Magnus cleared his throat and finally understood what Alec meant - _ fuck, _ no matter how hard he tried to be the seductive one, he didn’t stand a chance against Alexander, did he? And he didn’t really mind it. It was usually him who put the moves on people, so it was definitely welcome to be on the receiving end for a change and he couldn’t stop his smile from spreading further as he felt Alexander’s arms going up to his chest, one of them going to his neck and Magnus shuddered.

“Alexander, what are you-” asked Magnus, but his voice trailed off as soon as he felt Alec’s lips upon his neck, the hand now on his chin, two fingers holding his face up a little bit, so that Alexander had a better access to his neck and Magnus’ eyes fell shut as Alexander’s neck continued teasing his skin, gently sucking in. Alec really couldn’t stop himself, he was having far too much fun with it and he then pulled back a little bit.

“Dancing, see?” asked Alec and rolled his hips against Magnus’ backside. The warlock arched his back and pushed up against Alexander’s hard body again and he heard Alexander’s deep chuckle at the back of his ear, the demon nipping his earlobe. “I’m moving my hips,” he said and then let one of his arms flop down, holding Magnus’ hip and he pushed Magnus back, causing the warlock to whine out desperately. “Can’t keep up, warlock?” asked Alec and Magnus shuddered.

“You’re not playing fair,” managed to say Magnus and Alec grinned because he could feel that some of the other people were watching them and _ he liked that. _ He liked others watching how he claimed Magnus as his own - it hammered it into their core that Magnus belonged to him. It excited him and he gasped when he felt Magnus’ arms travelling back to cup his ass and Magnus grinned when he heard Alec letting out a little gasp. “ _ Don’t _underestimate me, you horny angel,” said Magnus and Alec grinned, demon eyes out on display because he just couldn’t help himself. 

“Oh, so you _ can _ keep up,” said Alec and thrusted his hips forward again. _ Alexander was hard. _Magnus could feel his hard cock rubbing up against him and he couldn’t handle it anymore. His entire body felt as if it was on fire, he was shuddering all over and he just turned around, crushing their lips together, surprising Alec a little bit, but the demon responded quickly to the kiss, sinking his teeth into Magnus’ lower lip and gently pulled on it, sucking it in and then kissed Magnus again. 

Magnus was a mess, if they continued like this he was coming undone just like that - heavily kissing Magnus and rubbing against his leg and he didn’t want it to end like that. But he also didn’t have the power in him to portal them back home, so he had to get creative and he looked around, trying to think and he grinned when the back rooms came to his mind. It was a storage room, but it would have to do and Alec yelped when Magnus quickly took his hand and started dragging him off the dance floor.

“Magnus-”

“Hurry,” gasped Magnus and Alec followed him in silence, but soon found out where they were headed, a dirty smile spreading upon his lips as he was pushed through the door, Magnus quickly locking it with his magic and before he could say anything else, Magnus rammed him against the wall and Alec gasped. 

“Semi-public sex, hmm?” hummed Alec. “Don’t mind it at all, that’s hot. How do you want it? Turned against the wall and-” he asked, but Magnus cut him off with a kiss. Magnus wasn’t having their first time in a place like this, but he had something else in mind. Maybe not going all the way, but… Mind hazy as he pulled back from the kiss, Magnus dropped to his knees in an instant and Alec’s eyes darkened again. Magnus kneeling down so willingly for him to take him was too much. 

“I want you to,” he said and then started unbuttoning Alec’s pants, mouthing the erection through the fabric of his underwear and Alec felt his cock stirring up in his pants even more so, because _ fuck. _ Magnus wasn’t giving him any time to rest and he entangled his fingers into Magnus’ hair. “Fuck my mouth,” voiced it loud and clearly Magnus, his fingers going around the base of Alec’s cock and he licked a thick strip underside it. “So big and thick,” escaped past his lips and Alec’s head was spinning _ in a good way. _

“You sure you can take it?” asked Alec and lifted Magnus’ face up by holding onto his chin gently and then he traced Magnus’ lips with his thumb. “Open up nice and wide for me,” said Alec and a wicked smile spread through Magnus lips as he dipped his head down and then swirled his tongue around the head, slowly taking Alexander inside, hollowing his cheeks as he sucked in and Alec moaned out in pleasure. _ Mmm, yes, that was it. _Magnus was trying really hard to take all of it and just the sheer thought of Alexander ramming his cock into him made him wanna come so hard, pressing his legs together and then he slipped his hand into his pants, undoing them quickly and Alec grinned when he saw that Magnus was touching himself too.

“Sucking my dick turns you on so much, huh?” asked Alec and Magnus only hummed, his mouth full and Alec gently caressed the back of Magnus’ neck. “Look at me, Magnus, yes, _ fuck, _ that’s it,” said Alec and growled because Magnus had his glamour down, his beautiful eyes exposed. Magnus’ mouth stretched to the limit, so full of his cock and Alec was a mess. This all affected Alec so much that he dropped his glamour down as well, his black eyes out and Magnus groaned. _ Yes, yes, yes, yes. _

Magnus started bobbing his head faster, but he also wanted Alexander to do what he asked him before - fuck his mouth. He was craving it and Alec could see it in his eyes. “Mmm, yes Magnus, you’ve been so good. You deserve a reward,” said Alec and winked, Magnus nodding and then he stopped moving, _ surrendering _to Alec. Allowing him to do as he pleased, Alec gasping because he could feel the amount of trust Magnus had for him. Alec braced himself and then started slowly moving on his own, fucking himself back into Magnus’ mouth, which was so perfectly hot, Magnus tightening around him just perfectly when he needed to and Alec was in heaven, he was sure. So was Magnus, because all he could really do was struggle to breathe, moan softly, his hand working fast as he was jerking himself off at the same time - it all just felt too good. That and the fact that they were public made the experience that more intense for the warlock - Magnus wasn’t going to last long. 

Alec had a little grin on his face as he watched down upon his gorgeous lover taking him in all the way back to the throat, gagging a little bit, but it seemed that Magnus had practice and Alec chuckled. He could just tell how good Magnus was trying to be for him and that made his cock stir up even more. There was no way that he could last much longer, his hips buckling like crazy and he grabbed on the back of Magnus' neck a bit rougher, but was still being careful enough. He looked down and his mouth almost drooled when he saw Magnus' hard cock in his fist. He wished he could last forever, but it all came crushing down on him and he shook his head. "Magnus, I'm coming," said Alec, trying to warn Magnus to pull out, but instead Magnus shoved his hands away, placing his own hands on top of Alec's hips and pushed them back against the wall and swallowed Alexander all the way back to his throat, grinning because that was when Alec lost it and came with a loud yelp of Magnus' name and Magnus shuddered, swallowing it all and he smiled proudly when he looked up and licked his lips.

"Mmm," hummed Magnus. That was finally enough to make Alec's cheeks flush and the demon quickly pulled up his pants. "Did I do good?" asked Magnus, standing up and he kissed Alexander_ deeply _, the demon groaning when he could taste himself on Magnus' tongue and he grinned.

"So good," said Alec and pouted when he saw that Magnus was still hard. “Now, I should probably do something about _ this _,” commented Alec and then glanced down, cupping Magnus’ hard cock, who let out a little muffled gasp and Alec smiled. “Come, lean against me, I’ll take care of you now,” said Alec and Magnus didn’t need to be told twice, leaning against the wall and Alexander, who had his arms wrapped around him, oh, so carefully and Magnus let out a hitched gasp when he felt Alec’s strong grip.

“Oh, yes,” gasped Magnus.

“Yeah?” asked Alec and then grinned. “What if I do _ this _?” asked Alec with a sly smirk and then twisted his wrist and gave Magnus a teasing squeeze at the tip, making the warlock groan, his toes curling and he wrapped his fingers around Alec’s wrist, trying to let him know how to move - to go faster because he felt as if he was about to burst and the fact that Magnus was leading Alexander excited the demon. “You like this, don’t you?” asked Alec, whispering dirty little nothings into Magnus’ ear and all the warlock could really do was nod as he was helplessly moaning into the crook of Alexander’s neck. 

Magnus was throbbing in Alec’s hand; he was close and Alec grinned, urging Magnus to let it go - to let the pleasure overcome him and Magnus couldn’t keep it back anymore; coming all over Alexander’s hand, who was moaning along him. That was one of the hottest encounters he ever had to that day and he was biting on his lip while he cleaned them up with magic and Magnus was still standing, barely, pants still down at his ankles and he looked so yummy like that. 

“I needed that,” muttered Magnus and Alec grinned.

“Yeah, you did,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. “As did I, amazing work. You're very talented, I mean you took me like a champ and-”

“Alexander, please, _ shut up _ ,” said Magnus because his cheeks were now red again and he finally dressed up again, shaking his head as he still couldn’t believe that he and Alexander had done it in the storage room of his club. That was oddly arousal, but also… _ well. _A little grin spread across Magnus’ lips and Alec was pouting again. “Let’s go back out there, you still owe me a half of the dance,” said Magnus as they really didn’t last out there much long - not even a whole song of dancing and Alec couldn’t really say no to such a proposal.

* * *

**New York Institute**

“I can’t believe it,” said Clary and shook her head. “That it’s all finally over,” she said and then leaned against the wall. Her boyfriend was there, nodding - he was exhausted, the last few weeks had been hell so he was happy to finally get some free time and just relax and do nothing. Completely nothing, he wanted to spend his time with his girlfriend and friends, doing _ nothing. _He was so done with everything and he then wrapped an arm around Clary and placed a kiss on top of her cheek.

“Finally,” he said and then smiled. “Still can’t believe we’ve managed to defeat Lilith… well…Isabelle, Magnus and Alec get all of the credits, but I like to think that we helped,” said Jace and Clary gave him a little nod and she then smiled, placing her head on top of his shoulder and then just gazed upon the Institute. It was still so empty, but looking more lively than before and she sighed. 

“I can’t wait things to get back to normal,” said Clary.

“Same. It’s been such a long time that I don’t even remember how _ normal _ feels like anymore,” said Jace and then shook his head. “I’m glad you’re there to remind me though, right?” asked Jace and Clary rolled her eyes, but then nodded and sighed happily. “Maybe we could go out on a date or something,” he proposed and the redhead was quick to agree - that sounded amazing. To go out for the first time in a while like a normal couple.

“I’d like that,” he said and then she hummed in agreement happily. 

But their peace didn’t last long as there had been soon heard an alarm from the security room and they both raised their heads - what in the world was going on now?! There couldn’t be another demon attack, they’ve closed the rift for good and were quite sure that another one shouldn’t be reopened for a while now. Not to mention that Isabelle and Alexander had killed off pretty much any demon that was still left in the city, so-

“The city’s under attack,” was heard from the security room. It was Underhill and both Clary and Jace ran into the room to see what in the world was going on. Jace was so over it all, but he was needed to be there and he hurried over to the computer screens. “Jace, this… I can’t explain, but this-” was pacing around Underhill as he couldn’t really describe what the sensors have picked up.

“Another demon?!” yelled out Jace and Underhill shook his head.

“No, but,” said Underhill and shuddered. “But I have a feeling that it’s much worse than a normal demon… its power,” he said and then gulped. “The source of its power is ten times stronger than of Lilith and-” said Underhill and watched how all of the colour drained from Jace’s and Clary’s faces - a being that was so much stronger than Lilith?!

_ What in the world was happening now?! They were just out of one danger and walked into a new one that was apparently even worse! _

  
  



	16. Chapter 16

“And are we sure that there’s been an attack?” asked Aline. After hearing the alarm, she and Helen hurried over into the security room to see what in the hell was going on. Since Lilith had been defeated all of them had kind of let their guards down, despite Helen and Aline witnessing it themselves - the thing that landed in Idris, but they allowed to not think about it and just as they tried to relax a little bit and enjoy their alone time, they’ve heard the alarm, quickly bailing from their rooms and running towards the other hunters that were all gathering in the main room, waiting for answers. And what answers were they going to get? That was very much a mystery to them all.

“There’s been more demonic disturbances?” asked Helen just to be sure to know what they were dealing with. Maybe the rift wasn’t closed, even though they were pretty sure that Isabelle managed to close it. Maybe the demon tricked them and let it open later after none of them were looking. Maybe she summoned someone far worse than them and Helen shook her head - Isabelle and Alexander were both of their sides. Their payment for their services was  _ freedom _ , so she doubted that they would do anything to comprise that. At least that was what she hoped, putting a lot of trust into it. But after she heard what Alec did for Magnus - risk his life by saving him, she was convinced that Lightwoods really weren’t bad people. Just  _ different _ and she then cleared her throat. 

“No,” said Underhill as he kept switching from cameras and their demonic detectors. “I mean I tried to figure it out what it is, but I can’t for the life of me see what it actually is,” said Underhill and ran his fingers through his curls. “It’s  _ not _ a demon, that’s for sure,” he carried on and was seen biting on his lip out of frustration. “But we were able to detect its power - the Mundanes are calling it a  _ gas leak,  _ but it isn’t,” said Underhill and then bit his lip. “Just before the supposed gas started leaking at a restaurant, the security cameras were able to record  _ this _ ,” he said and put on the footage to play out for all of them.

Clary and Jace narrowed their eyes because there was  _ something _ that was illuminating. It almost didn’t have a shape, but that was because of the way it was shining - it was really bright. But if they could see closely, they could see very faintly a figure of a woman and that made all of them shudder -  _ what if it was Lilith just in a different shape _ ?! But Underhill said that it  _ wasn’t _ a demon, could it be that Lilith was using some kind of a different way of coming back from Edom?! That confused all of them and they didn’t know what to think of it. 

“Were there any victims?” asked Clary.

“Not from what I can tell,” said Underhill and shook his head. “I just… I don’t know what we’re dealing with this time,” said Underhill. “I wouldn’t think of it too much if the sensors wouldn’t pick that much amount of power,” he said and then hid his face into his palms and was seen shaking his head again. “I’m just…  _ tired.  _ I hoped that this would all be over, but now it seems that things are somehow even worse,” he said. “And why come to New York of all places?” he asked and then groaned again. “Can’t they pick someplace else?!” he whined because he was sick of all of the monsters coming and attacking  _ them _ . Well, at least it felt like that, but he knew that other places were dealing with shit like this as well. Then again, not quite as Lilith and now this thing - whatever it was - targeted only their city. 

“I know, Theo, we all feel the amount of burden,” said Jace, who was now talking to Underhill and the curly blonde nodded. Jace was a leader, so of course, he understood it more than anyone - he was always there to deal with the shit that the world brought and he then shook his head. “I just… what do we tell the others?” asked Jace because he knew that the other hunters wouldn’t be too happy about them telling them that they had literally zero ideas of what the fuck was going on at the time. 

But Jace didn’t want to lie, he really didn’t as things were already strained as they were - others were asking how they managed to defeat Lilith all of the sudden, from where Magnus got all of that power that defeated Lilith; they didn’t tell anyone about the Lightwoods and people were getting suspicious. They had Simon  _ Encanto _ the hunters Isabelle and Alec attacked that they when they broke into the Institute, so they thought they were safe, but they still needed to watch their backs. 

“We tell them the truth,” was what Aline decided on and Clary was seen nodding.

“I think it’s the best in this situation,” was redhead quick to agree with the other and Jace sighed. That was true, but he still didn’t want to cause too much commotion and drama in between the Shadowhunters. He was biting on his lip and he was beyond nervous, but in the end he agreed that it would be the best solution. To just come forward and tell the others that he had no idea what in the world was going on - he just hoped that people would take the news well and he then puffed his cheeks. They were going to be needing all of the help they could get in with the Lightwoods being their strongest team members, he wondered if it would be okay to ask them for another favour, which Jace had all the intentions to pay for this time and he then sighed.

“We’ll need the Lightwoods, I’m pretty sure,” said Jace and the others looked at him. Aline and Helen didn’t like the sound of that too much, but Clary and Underhill, who knew Alec and Isabelle more, nodded. They would be needing them and they were pretty skeptical if they would want to help them  _ again. _ They were playing with fire for getting involved with them all of the time, so Jace would have to approach this matter carefully and again hide things from the Clave, which wouldn’t be the first time and something told him that it wasn’t going to be the last time. Until the Clave was willing to change, they would just have to keep on doing things off the record. 

But before approaching the two demons, they needed to figure it out for themselves - to know what in the world they were dealing with this time and Jace took in a deep breath and approached the other Shadowhunters that were waiting outside and his friends followed him, being there for him as he was going to be needing all of the emotional support that he could get; especially when some of the more annoying hunters started throwing around how Jace was one of the most useless Heads of the Institute they ever had so far. That hurt, but Jace just rolled his eyes - he kind of expected that.

* * *

“Alexander, are you okay?” asked Magnus and glanced over to his lover, who was holding onto his head and Alec only shrugged because  _ he didn’t know.  _ He felt okay, the rune wasn’t bothering him at the moment, but it was just that he had this headache that he didn’t know how to explain. He was a demon, he didn’t get  _ headaches,  _ at least not headaches like this one and he was groaning because he wanted to make it gone. He tried using his magic, but the pain didn’t stop and he rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel in a lot of pain, it was just a pain in the ass if he was being honest and he sighed. “Hey, Alexander, what’s wrong?” asked Magnus and then sat down next to Alec, who was sitting on the couch and was massaging his temples.

“My head hurts,” said Alec and Magnus pouted - Alec was in pain? That made the warlock feel bad and he leaned closer, placing a little kiss on top of Alec’s forehead and he smiled when he saw the expression on Alexander’s face. “It’s okay, let me kiss it better,” said Magnus happily and Alec didn’t really protest if he was getting sweet kisses from Magnus. He just closed his eyes and leaned back against the couch and the warlock smiled. “Is it working?” he asked and slowly climbed into Alec’s lap, sitting on top of his legs, straddling his lap and the demon hummed in agreement.

“Any time I get to have you in my lap is good,” said Alec and Magnus snorted, rolling his eyes. “Ugh, but for real, this is strange. I am a demon, I don’t get headaches, right?” asked Alec and then looked at Magnus, who was thinking and he then clicked with his tongue. Maybe not, but Alec wasn’t a normal demon, was he? “I mean I’ve never gotten one and this one is just annoying,” was what the grumpy demon decided on and Magnus chuckled, pressing a little kiss on top of his forehead once again.

“It’s probably just stress,” said Magnus. “I mean after what we’ve been through, it’s only normal. Even if you  _ are _ a demon, it affected you in many ways, so you should still be taking it a little bit slowly,” said Magnus and Alec nodded - yeah, that made sense. Maybe, he didn’t know, but he smiled when he felt Magnus’ fingers gently massaging his temples then and Magnus grinned as well, because the smile on Alexander’s face was sweet and cute. “Oh, I know what to do,” said Magnus and Alec opened his eyes.

“Hmm?”

“You don’t have to do anything, just sit back and enjoy,” said Magnus and planted a little kiss on top of Alexander’s lips. He then snapped his fingers and summoned a little box, Alec cocking his head to the side and he then perked up. Was that some kind of a potion again? Alec didn’t know, but he waited for an explanation. “This should help you - it does help me when I feel a bit under the weather,” he said and winked. Okay, now Alexander was really curious to what Magnus had inside of that box. 

“A cream?” asked Alec and then narrowed his eyes. “Why do you-”

“Shh and let me do my job,” said Magnus and quieted the demon down with a kiss. Alec tried to protest again, but in the end he just stopped talking and hummed in delight when a fresh and minty smell filled him. “It’s a magical cream, made by yours truly,” said Magnus happily and Alec wanted to say something back, but Magnus was quicker. “With just a few drops of peppermint essential oil,” he said and applied some of it onto his fingers and gently started massaging it into Alec’s temples and the demon raised his eyebrows, but he wasn’t about to protest, because that felt and smelled good. “It’s been a popular method for treating pesky headaches for centuries, you see,” said Magnus and then smiled when he saw the look on Alec’s face. 

“ _ Ah _ ,” said Alec and then chuckled. “Didn’t take you for a doctor too,” said Alec and Magnus snorted a little bit, but kept massaging Alec’s temples and he could tell that the attention did well for Alec. He was visibly relaxed and was softly humming because Magnus’ fingers were indeed massaging the pain away. Kind of. But it was relaxing and it felt good, a little smile spreading across his lips and Magnus was smiling as well. 

“Feeling better?” asked Magnus.

“Mmm, yes, this does feel nice,” he said and Magnus smiled, nodding along because he was happy that Alexander was feeling better. So, since the treatment was helping, Magnus kept on massaging his angel for a little longer and who was Alec to complain?

* * *

“Isabelle, thank you so much for coming here on such a short notice,” said Jace and Izzy looked at the blonde Shadowhunter and then took in a deep breath and then just nodded. She wasn’t happy to be back at the Institute, but Jace claimed that it was serious and since Isabelle wanted Magnus and Alec to enjoy a bit of their time together, she decided to take one for the team and go instead of her brother. If it was something serious, she was planing on telling him later. But if it wasn’t, she wasn’t going to bother him. So, there she was, again surrounded by the Shadowhunters and she was quite irritated.

“Yeah,” said Isabelle and then looked around. “What is it that you need me this time around?” she asked and then scoffed a little bit. “I mean, you Shadowhunters truly can’t handle anything on your own, can you?” she asked and shook his head, turning his head over to Underhill and he then flinched. “You’re cool though, Alec told me that you are cool, so I like you as well, but others… ugh,” she said and Underhill cleared his throat.

“Thanks?” he asked and then rubbed his palms together. He decided to take that as a compliment since the Lightwoods  _ really _ didn’t like the hunters, so to be liked by then had to mean that you were cool. That was how Underhill decided to interpret her words and then he just smiled. “So, um, yes, as Jace said, we’re sorry to bring you back into this whole thing, but there’s been a situation,” he explained and Isabelle arched a brow.

“A situation?”

“Yeah,” said Clary, chiming in. “There’s been another attack by a being that is more powerful than Lilith was herself, so we are-” she started, but Isabelle glared at her and she quickly stopped talking - what did she do wrong now?! She really wanted to make Isabelle see that she was one of the good guys, but Izzy was having none of it. Was she really still mad about the whole thing at the beginning? Clary apologised about her and Jace bailing on Magnus and Alec  _ and _ she apologised for the whole stabbing incident more than once, but it seemed that Isabelle still wasn’t going to let her off the hook. The thing was - Isabelle was really good at holding grudges and a few good deeds weren’t going to get Clary on her good side.

“Was I talking to you?” asked Isabelle, interrupting Clary and the redhead quickly shook her head. “Well, then, I suppose you should shut up then, or do you really have to be such know it all?!” she asked and then shuddered. Clary really was insufferable sometimes with always wanting to be the one to have the last word. Or with being too nosy with  _ everything _ and Isabelle had no problems in letting her know that. “Good, silence, you should keep your mouth shut,” said Isabelle and then turned to Underhill. “So, you were saying?” she asked and Underhill looked around the room, feeling a bit awkward - he was the one in charge now? He was used to Jace always having the last word, so this was a little bit-

“Um, well, yes,” he stammered and then took in a deep breath. He looked at Jace, who nodded and once Underhill saw that there was no hard feelings on the other end, he finally allowed himself to continue. “The thing is,” he said and took in a deep breath, walking over to the computers so that he could bring up all of the evidences. “Something… we think an attack happened,” said Underhill and Isabelle was nodding along. “But it is just very strange. I thought it was a demon or something, but we couldn’t track any demon activities in the city ever since you closed the rift,” he said and Isabelle nodded. 

“Okay, go on.”

“The cameras around the area of the  _ attack _ managed to capture this,” said Underhill then and again brought on the footage that he showed to the others before. Isabelle leaned closer to the screen and narrowed her eyes - she had no idea to what she was looking at, but it was nothing she had ever seen before and she blinked a few times. That was really something else and even she was now curious to see what in the world they’ve been dealing with. “And I, for one, have no idea what could it be. I mean,” he said and then huffed. “If it’s not a demon, then-”

“I have no ideas either,” muttered Isabelle and then straightened herself up and then started thinking. In the end she decided to help them out, mainly because it interested her now to come to the bottom of this. If it was really that more powerful than Lilith, then… it made Isabelle curious. Isabelle was about to say that she was going to help them, but she felt a sharp pain in her head and she let out a frustrated groan and Underhill looked at her. Isabelle was holding her head and trying to make the headache go away, but it wasn’t working.

“All okay?” asked Underhill and Isabelle groaned, but in the end nodded.

“Ugh, just a headache,” she said and shook her head. “I’ll be fine,” she then said and put on a brave smile. “But, I’m in, I also wanna come to the bottom of this,” she said and all of the hunters in the room perked up -  _ really?!  _ Awesome, they had a Lightwood on their side, so they were on a good track to figuring this one out as well and saving the city…  _ again. _ And all of them hoped that after this threat was over that they would finally get some peace and quiet.

* * *

“Magnus, Alec… are you two decent?” asked Isabelle as she popped inside of the warlock’s loft and found her brother and his boyfriend in the living room, watching the TV and both of them were just sitting there and cuddling. She smiled because they looked really sweet together and she felt bad because she was about to put an end to their peaceful time together. Jace wanted to be the one to go and get Alec, but Isabelle soon made him see that that maybe wasn’t the wisest idea - if he wanted to stay alive, it would be for the best if she was the one who would be telling them about the new threat on the city. Alec looked around and smiled when he saw his younger sister.

“Iz!” said Alec and beamed at her. “Wanna join us? We’re watching something called a  _ 13 Going On 30 _ ,” he said happily and Magnus snorted. Surprisingly, the demon liked the movie, no matter how silly the concept was. “And we have popcorn,” he then announced and Isabelle chuckled - this right there,  _ this _ Alec reminded her a lot of the Alec she used to know before any of that went down. Just careless and happy guy and she grinned, but then shook her head. “No?”

“I wish, but,” said Isabelle and Alec’s eyes darkened, as did Magnus’ -  _ what was wrong now?!  _ Magnus wanted to whine and he just knew that Isabelle visiting had to deal something with  _ Jace.  _ Or other Shadowhunters, he just knew! “Jace sent me here to-”

“Jace,” said Alec and his soul darkened. “He’s being a cock block and using my sister to do his dirty deed. Not cool,” said Alec and pulled out his blade. “Where is he?” he asked and Magnus started giggling next to him because somehow Alexander looked adorable at that time. In one of his hands he was holding popcorn and the other he had his blade it - it was hilarious but he felt him. He felt the annoyance kicking in again and he just sighed. ‘’And what did he do now?’’ he grumbled and Isabelle started laughing, but she just shook her head.

‘’Believe it or not - he didn’t do anything this time,’’ said Izzy and Alec perked up. ‘’There’s been an incident and they need our help. Before you say something - I just want you to know that this is  _ very _ strange because,’’ she said and shook her head. ‘’I mean something powerful landed in New York and it isn’t a demon,’’ she said and rubbed the back of her neck. ‘’Underhill showed it to me and, Alec, this  _ thing _ , is so weird. I’ve never seen anything like it and if it’s really as powerful as they say… apparently even more than Lilith,’’ she said and Alec’s face quickly went pale and Magnus looked at his side -  _ angels?  _ Alexander was making a terrified expression and the only thing that scared the demon were  _ angels _ , gulping and he grabbed onto Alec’s hand. 

‘’Alexander,’’ he said and Alec shifted a little bit, looking over at Izzy, who was now biting on her lip. ‘’Do you think?’’ he asked and Alec nodded - there was no questions about it, it had to be an angel. Only angels were that powerful.

‘’I… I think so, I’m not sure, but it sounds like it,’’ he said and Isabelle was frowning then.

‘’Alec, what’s going on?’’ she asked because she really didn’t like Alec keeping secrets away from her. Neither did Alec, but he was trying to protect her and he took in a deep breath. ‘’Okay, seriously, you’re freaking me out now,’’ she said because Alec rarely stayed quiet and she stepped closer. ‘’If you know anything, tell me so that I can…  _ ouch,  _ not again,’’ whined Isabelle and looked down, a sharp pain in her head again, mainly in her temples and Alec’s jaw dropped - no way. She had headaches as well? ‘’Ugh, I’m fine, but-’’ started Isabelle, but Alec interrupted her.

‘’You’re getting headaches as well?’’ asked Alec and Isabelle nodded, then her eyes widened when the  _ as well  _ part sunk in. 

‘’My head’s been killing me for the entire day too,’’ said Alec and then looked at Magnus, who looked rather surprised as well. Both of the Lightwoods were getting those headaches? Magnus pressed his lips together and then doom started setting in - maybe it was the angels after all. It would make sense that Alec and Isabelle were sensitive to their presence - they were actually demon blooded creatures and it would (probably) make sense for them to notice one if it was in their perimetre. And that made Magnus wonder - just how close was the angel? And were they really there to destroy the Lightwoods?! Magnus shook his head and then gripped on Alec’s hand tighter.

‘’Alexander-’’

‘’I need to get to the Institute,’’ said Alec, saying the things he never thought he’d actually hear himself say again one day and he then shuddered a little bit. Isabelle stepped closer.

‘’I’m going as well, but first you need to tell me what the hell is going on!’’

‘’No, you wait here with Magnus and-’’

‘’Oh, no, you don’t get to do this again,’’ said Magnus and then got onto his legs as well, shaking his head. ‘’I thought I’ve told you before - I am going to protect you, even if the heaven opens up and sends their best soldiers, I’m gonna be there and protect you no matter what, so I am coming with you,’’ said Magnus as he wasn’t going to let Alexander do something stupid again. 

‘’Magnus, angels are-’’

‘’ _ Angels?’’ _ shrieked Isabelle and Alec turned to her. ‘’Angels… an angel… this is an angel that has come on Earth?!’’ she asked and Alec nodded. Isabelle’s jaw dropped. ‘’And… what the hell would an angel be doing in New York of all places?’’ she asked because it sounded ridiculous. ‘’I mean what could an angel even want on Earth? There’s nothing-’’

‘’Us,’’ said Alec and Isabelle stopped talking. ‘’They never approved of us, so they sent one down one to put an end to our existence once and for all,’’ said Alec and his voice was shaking. Isabelle’s heart fell into the pit of her stomach and she then shuddered -  _ oh, no.  _


	17. Chapter 17

“It’s Izzy and me who they want,” said Alec and the others in the room looked at him. Jace narrowed his eyes, Underhill frowning as well and Clary was just standing quietly close to them as she didn’t dare to speak. She opened her mouth to say something, but one stern gaze from Izzy made her shut up, so she made a step back and just minded her own business, not wanting to make the situation any worse. Alec and Magnus had come down to the Institute with Isabelle - a few days had passed by and Isabelle and Alec had finally decided on telling the others. The angel’s activities were still being noted around the town and it only seemed for to let the Shadowhunters know what was happening. The angel’s perimeter was closing in, closer and closer to the Institute, making Jace and the others more and more worried. 

“Wait, this makes no sense,” said Jace, who was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that an _ angel _ had come to New York - it actually made _ zero _ sense to him and he just shook his head. “I mean why would an angel be here now of all times? They should’ve come when Lilith was on the rampage not _ now _ when we’ve defeated her,” said Jace and then just continued shaking his head. Also, why in the world would an angel care about two Greater Demons who had _ helped _ the hunters? It made no sense to Jace and the others, who didn’t know the whole story about Isabelle and Alexander. It made much sense to Magnus though and he just sighed.

“Believe me, it makes sense,” said Magnus and then held in his breath, Alec looking at him and the look in his eyes told Magnus not to tell the others about his past. And that wasn’t what Magnus was trying to do - he would never exploit Alexander and Isabelle’s painful past. Especially not at times like this one and Magnus clasped his hands together. “Believe me, Jace, it makes sense to me. I can’t really tell you _ why _ that is, but,” he said and then just rubbed the back of his neck. “I do believe Alexander when he says that an angel had been sent down on Earth to deal with Isabelle and Alexander,” he carried on and Jace looked around, eyes locking with Underhill, who also believed Magnus, to questions asked.

“Okay,” said Underhill and then nodded. “I mean there’s no reason for you to really lie to us,” he said and then gave Alec a little smile, who was just nervously gazing in front of himself and he just pressed his lips together. The fact that he might be sent back to Edom _ or worse _ made his entire body shudder and he was trying to look collected, but he wasn’t really being successful at it. Isabelle wasn’t as scared of the angels as Alec - she was sure that whatever would come their way that they could handle it _ together _, like they usually did, but she didn’t know the angels like Alec did. She was too young back then. Heck, so was Alec, but there was some things that still stuck to him to this day - there were things that one could just not forget that easily and he cleared his throat.

“Okay, so let’s say that an angel really is in New York,” said Jace and then looked around the room. The meeting room was locked, the other hunters had no idea that Isabelle and Alexander had portalled in. For some reason they could easily portal in and out without being detected and he then just took in a deep breath. There were many things strange about the demons, but he didn’t want to focus on it at that time. “What should we do, Alec?” asked Jace and looked a the demon, who was now biting on his lip. Jace was asking him for help, he wasn’t being arrogant at all. Jace was being genuine and Alec appreciated that. But, he really didn’t know what was there for them to do. If the hunters would try and go against the angel, they could easily just-

“I don’t-”

“Hide them,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped. “Hide Alexander and Isabelle,” said Magnus quickly because he wanted to keep them both safe. He didn’t want anything happening to Alexander, not _ again. _ Alexander had been his guardian angel for these past few weeks and now he wanted to keep him safe in return. He didn’t know where they would hide the siblings, but they needed to act fast and he then just dragged his tongue over his lower lip. Alec and Isabelle didn’t like the sound of that, they were not going to be hidden away _ again. _ They were going to deal with this head on and not run away like cowards. They both felt like that. Besides, Alec wasn’t going to allow Magnus risking so much just for him. Magnus had so much to live for, while Alec… he… if it was his time, then so be it. But-

“No, we’ve had a talk about this,” said Alec and turned to his boyfriend. “The angels are strong and I will not allow you to just send me away,” he said and shook his head. “You do not know the things they’re capable of doing and if anyone just stands in their way, Magnus,” said Alec and was seen shaking his head. “_ No _ , you will not risk so much for me. I’m not worth it,” he said and thus broke Magnus’ heart again. _ Alexander thought that he wasn’t worth it? _That he wasn’t worth risking everything for. Now, that was where Alec was greatly mistaken.

“Alexander,” said Magnus and gently cupped Alec’s face. “Oh, Alexander, can’t you see that you’re so worthy of _ everything _?” asked Magnus and Alec shuddered, trying not to nuzzle into the touch, but his body betrayed him and he closed his eyes. “You’re worthy of everything that’s good in this world, so please,” said Magnus. “Let me help you this time. You’ve risked your life for me more than once,” said Magnus and then bit his lip. “Let me do the same for you this time, allow me to-”

“No,” said Alec and then gently removed Magnus’ hand from his cheek. “This is on me and I can’t let you risk it,” said Alec and then wrapped his arms around Magnus’ waist. “Why are you being so stubborn?” he then asked and Magnus glared at him - he could say the same for him. While the two of them were trying to discuss their matters, the others were trying to figure this out. Isabelle still didn’t understand why Alexander was being like this - acting as if everything was over. They’ve dealt with many horrible things in Edom - they’ve taken on Asmodeus himself before _ and _ won, so what was _ another _ angel? All in all, Asmodeus was a fallen angel himself!

Isabelle shook her head and joined the others, trying to work together as they were coming up with a plan. But no matter what happened - she was _ not _ going to be hiding again. The angels have taken so much from her in the past and she was going to take out a revenge on them. She was not going to let them scare her away, because she had a lot of anger and hatred towards them and she was going to use it. 

* * *

They didn’t know exactly when all hell broke loose exactly. It was a few hours later and they were finally coming up with a plan how to deal with the angel on the loose - how they would trap it. Alec and Isabelle were still at the Institute, Magnus and all of the others there as well when things suddenly started going south. It started with something that resembled an earthquake and none of them, including Alexander, thought anything of it. But then Isabelle suddenly dropped on the floor, kneeling down as she was grabbing on her head, which was down as she was hunched over and she was trying to breathe slowly in and out. She had a splitting headache and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get rid of it. 

Alec ran over to his sister and tried to help her on her legs, so that he and the others could drag her away. But just as he was about to help her stand up, he felt a stabbing headache as well and he looked up at Magnus, who quickly hurried over to the siblings, the others just standing there petrified as the ground continued shaking and it wasn’t stopping. If anything, the magnitude of the earthquake was getting higher and it soon became pretty clear to all of them that it wasn’t just a normal earthquake as it was too strong - too strong for New York, at least and they all looked completely terrified.

“What in the world-” started Jace, but Magnus didn’t give him the time to talk because he knew all too well what this was, Alexander had told him enough to know. The angel, it was coming. Somehow, the angel managed to track down Isabelle and Alec and this was going to be it… isn’t it? Magnus looked at the others and he knew that he needed to step in and give others directions, because Jace completely froze up and others were looking at him completely nervously and lost.

“Clary, Underhill go get more weapons,” said Magnus and Underhill quickly nodded, pulling Clary with him. “Jace, you go tell the others that we’re under attack,” he said and he shook his head. It would be pointless to go up against the angel and he started shaking. The numbers of victims that this would lead up to… he shuddered and he pressed his lips together. “T-tell them to meet me up in the meeting room, tell them to evacuate. I’ll create a portal for all of them, leading to Idris,” he said and Jace looked lost, but that sounded like a good idea and he quickly nodded. “Go. _ Now _,” he practically yelled out as the shaking of the floor was getting more and more severe and there could be screams being heard from outside of the room. 

“And them?” asked Jace and pointed at Isabelle and Alec. 

“Leave them to me,” said Magnus. “I’ll make sure they’ll be transported back to safety,” he said and Jace nodded, quickly running out to inform the others that they would be evacuating the place. Fighting back would be pointless, so running away was going to be their tactic. The weapons that Clary and Underhill were getting would just buy them some time in case the angel would indeed attack the Shadowhunters. And what was Magnus planning on doing? At the moment, he was trying to get both Lightwoods to snap out of it and get them to cross over the portal that he was going to be creating, but they didn’t want to listen.

“Magnus, we’re staying,” insisted Isabelle as she was finally standing back on her feet and Magnus shook his head. “I’m not with running away. The angels deserve to get out backlash so if there’s anything I can do before… _ ouch _,” she moaned and then stumbled over her feet. The pain was getting worse and Alec quickly came closer to Magnus.

“Join the others, Magnus,” said Alec and the warlock shook his head. “Isabelle and I will make sure that nobody gets stuck back here at the Institute, okay?” he asked and Magnus was getting more and more scared because it looked like Alexander was saying his goodbyes and he wasn’t going to stand by that. Just who did Alec think that he was?! “You should get to safety, as soon as the last Shadowhunter is portalled to Idris, you take the way out and-”

“Alexander, I love you, but you need to stop talking, okay?!” yelled Magnus on top of his lungs. “I don’t care what happens to me,” he said and pointed his finger at Alec’s chest. “And quite frankly you’re pissing me off by acting like you don’t matter,” he said and Alec arched a brow. “So, _ no _, we’re not leaving you two behind,” he said and grabbed onto Alexander’s shirt and shook his head. “Can’t you see how much I love you?” he yelled out in his desperation and Alec bit his lip, but nodded. Of course he knew.

“I do, that’s why I want you to be safe,” muttered Alec. “Please.”

“How about,” said Magnus because he knew that there was no way that he could talk Alec out of this. So because he didn’t want to fight (and because they really didn’t have the time), he decided to make a compromise. “How about if we do this together?” he asked, his lower lip shaking a little bit. He was scared, he was terrified, but at least they would be together. He didn’t expect the attack to come out of nowhere like this, he had false hope that they had time - like they did with Lilith, but even that came to different turns of events. “Together we’re pretty much unstoppable,” he said and then tried to make himself feel a bit better. If he was being honest the thought of Alexander standing by his side made him feel at ease. At least a little bit. “Just like we defeated Lilith, let’s kick some ass again, huh?” asked Magnus and tried to make Alec see that he wasn’t leaving him. And luckily, Alec nodded.

“Okay, yes,” said Alec and leaned closer, placing his lips on top of Magnus’, kissing him ever so desperately and then took in a deep breath after pulling away. “Yes, lets kick some angel butt together,” said Alec, no matter how ridiculous and ever cheesy it sounded. He looked at Isabelle, who was ready to join them in on their plan as well, hunched down and recovered from the headache. Her head still felt a bit fuzzy, but she was _ ready _.

“Great,” she said and her demon eyes were out and exposed, making Alec grin as well and she then looked at Magnus. “You two go and get the others to safety, I’ll go join Underhill and the little girl in the weaponry room,” she said and looked at Alec. “Bring something for us as well,” she said and winked, Alec feeling adrenaline rushing over his veins and the demonic part of him was alive and kicking in. He was looking forward to this, to let loose centuries of suppressed anger and hatred. It was going to be _ fun _.

* * *

By the time that the door of the Institute burst open and an angel had _ really _ broken in, the Institute was already safely evacuated, Magnus transporting all of the hunters into Idris. They thought that they were safe, until a young mother came running to them that her _ daughter _ , a five year old girl was missing and that she wasn’t among the ones who got evacuated. _ Nobody gets left behind _ , thought Isabelle and without even thinking decided to go and look for the little girl. She didn’t know _ why _ she was doing this, her old self would never save a Shadowhunter, but all she could think was the little girl and before Alec or anyone else could really stop her, Izzy was gone, running through the halls of the Institute searching for the girl. Magnus and Alec decided to wait for her in the meeting room; the portal was barely keeping up as Magnus had been holding it open for a long time, so Alec decided to stay behind and help him with keeping it open. 

Isabelle was panting, the closer that she was to the angel, the dizzier she was getting. She didn’t know why the angel had such an impact on her, but she wasn’t giving up - she was going to save the little girl. She was innocent and wasn’t going to allow an angel to tear another family apart. Not like they did with hers, feeling her heart leaping to her throat as she was running around, gritting her teeth, tears in her eyes, but she managed to find the girl soon enough. The girl was squeezed to the corner, crying out for help as she was too terrified to even move. 

“Thank goodness, I’ve found you,” said Isabelle, quickly tucked away the Seraph blade and her whip because she didn’t want to scare the poor girl even more. Going to her, the girl flinched when she heard someone coming and she started crying louder, gripping on her stuffed toy and Isabelle quickly went down on her knees and gently touched the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, hey… I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to get you to safety, okay?” asked Isabelle and the girl slowly stopped crying and she looked up, her big brown eyes finding Isabelle’s and she nodded, tears in her eyes and Isabelle smiled. “There you go,” she said. “I’m not gonna let this mean thing get to you, you’ll be soon off to Idris, I promise.”

“Thank you,” mumbled the girl and took Isabelle’s hand, trusting the demon with all her might. Isabelle wasn’t in control, her demonic eyes were exposed, but the girl didn’t flinch because she trusted her. The nice woman was there to save her and she was about to walk with Isabelle when the door to their left suddenly sprung open and landed on the other side of the hallway. The girl let out a high pitched scream and Isabelle tensed up as she waited someone to step through the door. And they did.

“Mommy,” cried the girl and gripped on Isabelle.

“It’s okay, I’ll keep you safe, just stand behind me, okay?” asked Isabelle and quickly reached for the Seraph blade and untangled her whip. “I’ll protect you,” she promised again and felt her heart pounding in her chest when the angel finally stepped to them and Isabelle’s heart fell into the pit of her stomach.

The angel was stunning, _ she _ was beautiful, almost a spitting image of Isabelle - Izzy did not recognise her. The angel looked stunned and wouldn’t move for a long time - it was as if seeing Isabelle had such an impact on her that it made her forget about the situation for a little while. But then the woman moved, exposing her angelic wings and Isabelle looked at the crying girl, feeling even more protective. She was terrified, but she did not waver, spreading out her black wings as well, protecting the girl with them, eyes back and she growled. 

“Come closer, I dare you.”

* * *

“What is taking Iz so long?” asked Alec as he was getting impatient - his sister should have come back by then and he couldn’t handle not knowing where she was for such a long time. Something must have happened because they knew that the angel was inside, so Alec couldn’t just stand there and do nothing - he had to go and rescue his little sister and he looked over at Magnus, who looked as equally concerned. “I need to go find her, Magnus,” said Alec and that time the warlock wasn’t going to be stopping him. In fact, he was coming along because Isabelle needed their help. If that angel really got to her, then-

“I’m coming with you,” said Magnus and Jace stepped closer. 

“And the portal?” he asked, Magnus shaking his head.

“I don’t care,” said Magnus, biting his lip. “You go ahead and leave without us, the portal will continue being open for a while, until it fizzles out, so leave while you can,” said Magnus, looking over to their friends. “We’ll be joining you in a bit, we just have to go and see what happened to Iz,” he said and Alec nodded, biting on his lip.

“Quickly now,” said Alec as he really didn’t have the time to be saying his goodbyes and Magnus nodded, waving to all of them before Alec grabbed his hand and pulled him out of that meeting room, Jace glancing at Isabelle, who glanced at Underhill, who was looking down. He couldn’t just leave like that - they were all their _ friends _ no matter how he looked at it and before the other two could stop him, Underhill was following Magnus and Alec behind - they needed to get to Isabelle and the little girl! Before someone else did!

* * *

  
  


Isabelle was confused to why the angel suddenly _ stopped. _ She wasn’t moving, she was just watching at Isabelle and if Isabelle’s eyes weren’t deceiving her, she could see _ tears _ in the angel’s eyes. What was going on? Isabelle was confused and she didn’t dare to make the next move. Her wings were still out and were stiff, but if the angel was about to take a strike at her, Isabelle was ready to protect herself and the girl. She wasn’t letting the angel step past her. The angel was looking at her wings and Isabelle made a step back when the angel made a step closer. “What have they done to you?” asked a voice that was familiar to Isabelle and she felt shivers going up her spine. She didn’t respond. “Isabelle, my sweet little girl,” she said and as she blinked, tears started rolling down her cheeks - _ seriously, who was she?! _At the back of her mind, Isabelle was sure that she knew her, but-

“Stay back,” said Isabelle, holding in her breath and the blade was still in her hand, which was now shaking. She didn’t even know why, but she also felt emotional, clearing her throat and she then tried to show the angel that she wasn’t backing down. “I won’t ask you again - stay back. Make one step closer and I’ll-” started Isabelle, but then her voice trailed off when she heard a couple of footsteps running towards her direction.

“Isabelle!” 

It was Magnus.

“Iz, are you here?” 

And Alec.

Isabelle swallowed and then bit her lip, Alec and Magnus running into the room. Alec didn’t see the angel at first, his eyes fell upon his sister, who seemed unharmed and he felt relief flashing over his body. _ Thank goodness, his sister was okay. _ While Alexander was too concerned with his sister, Magnus looked to the right and saw _ her. _The angel, dressed in white dress, wings out and exposed and his face twisted in shock. It was a trap, they’ve just walked in on a trap and- Magnus felt sick and he quickly looked at Alec, trying to let him know. 

“A-Alexander,” muttered Magnus. “W-we’re not alone,” he said and Alec finally snapped back to reality, feeling chills going up his spine and he quickly pulled a blade out, holding it tightly in his hand as he slowly turned around, preparing to strike at once. He turned around and faced himself staring back at the angel. 

He couldn’t breathe, Alec couldn’t… he felt dizzy and everything around him just _ stopped. _ He could only hear the beating of his racing heart and his ragged breathing because the angel standing in front of him was… his mother? Alec blinked a few times and then dropped the blade, stumbled over his feet and his face was pale, Magnus looking at him in complete shock. He didn’t know what overcame Alexander all of the sudden, but- Alec struggled to _ speak _ because how?! How was their mother on Earth?! He thought that the angels forbade her from returning back, so _ how _?! Alec didn’t know what to do - he was like a deer caught in the headlights and he couldn’t stop looking at her.

“Mother?” stammered Alec and Isabelle’s eyes widened. _ The angel was their mother?! _ She looked again at her and then back at her brother, feeling chills going up her spine again and Magnus took in a deep breath because _ what?! _None of them knew what to think of the current situation. 

As soon as that word left Alec’s mouth, Maryse let out a loud sob and covered her mouth. “My boy,” she whispered and Alec’s head started spinning. “I’ve searched all around for you,” she whispered, smiling through her tears. “I’ve finally found you,” she said and when she wanted to come closer, Alec stepped back. Maryse’s heart broke.

“Did the heaven send you to… to… why,” was stammering Alec because he couldn’t… he just couldn’t and he looked so struck. Magnus had never seen him like this and he grabbed onto his hand. “You can’t be here, the angels forbade you from ever returning, so this has to be some kind of a sick-”

“The angels finally granted my wish,” said Maryse and Alec shook his head. He did not understand. “They finally let me return,” muttered Maryse. “And-and I know it’s a lot, but I had no choice back then. They would-”

“I know,” said Alec and shook his head - he didn’t need excuses, he knew exactly how cruel the angels were. 

“They’ve realised their mistake… seen you helping the Shadowhunter.. how you’ve been mistreated and _ finally _ realised their mistakes. So they let me come back and be with you,” she said and Alec shuddered. Their mother was crying. Maryse was _ back, _ their mom was back and Alec looked at Magnus, who was just standing there as he didn’t know what to do. Isabelle had no memories of their mother, so this was a lot for her to take in and she didn’t allow herself to cry. But Alexander? Who had been longing to see his mother again for centuries, whose only wish left was to see her again? He walked to her and just allowed her to hug her and then broke down in tears, not crying… but completely breaking down and Magnus found himself tearing up as well. 

Isabelle walked closer to her, looking almost frightened, but on the verge of tears and her lower lip was shaking. “Mom?” she finally allowed herself to say the word she never addressed some before - that was taken away from her.

“Yes, my sweet girl, it’s mom,” said Maryse and smiled through her tears, Isabelle tucking back her wings and she slowly made her way to the angel, slowly reaching out to her, until Alec pulled his sister closer and Maryse hugged her as well. “I’m really here, my children, I’ve finally found you.”

When being hugged, Isabelle let out a sob that loud that it sent chills down Magnus’ back and he pressed his lips together. He could feel Isabelle’s desperation, the _ want _ to be hugged by her mother, the _ centuries _ of pain and he decided to leave the three alone. It didn’t feel right to be standing there. As the Lightwoods were busy hugging it out, he walked over to the little girl and told her that he'd take her to her parents. Magnus found Underhill around the corner, who had so many questions and Magnus dragged him away, but maybe it was time to let him and the others in on the secret that Isabelle and Alexander weren’t regular demons.


	18. Chapter 18

When Magnus and Underhill told the others what had been going on - after they’ve reunited the girl with her parents, they all met up with Jace and the others to let them know what in the world was going on - that there was no more danger. But Jace couldn’t believe what he had been hearing; apparently the angel that had just popped up into the middle of the Institute was Alec’s and Izzy’s  _ mother _ . Their mother was an angel, while the two of them were  _ demons?!  _ That made little to no sense to Jace until he remembered the signs that he saw about Alec when the two were fighting together on a  _ mission _ . The Seraph blade lighting up when Alec would hold it, also his style of fighting reminded him a lot of a Shadowhunter way of fighting. Not only that, but Clary had stabbed Isabelle once with the blade and there was  _ nothing _ that happened to her. Also, not to mention their ability to move freely around the Institute - the wardings nor the protection runes being able to stop them. That was when it all somehow clicked inside of Jace’s mind, though he still had many questions -  _ what were they then?  _ It was what it boiled down to essentially and he had to see it on his own eyes. 

Not that he didn’t trust Magnus, but he just needed to have some evidence that he would have to present to the Clave. There was no way that they would end this slide so easily - they had literally evacuated the entire Institute, portalling people over to Idris just in case. So, there were going to be questions, who attacked the New York Institute and Jace’s mind was already spinning because he knew that he would have  _ nothing _ to present. The Clave didn’t know about Lightwoods, they didn’t know that they were working with the demons - which was a good thing. But how would he now come up with an excuse that an angel just happened to pop up and  _ check up  _ on them? It made no sense even to Jace and he was already thinking about it when he was on his way to see the Lightwoods and this angel. 

And the Clave were already suspicious as it was - they didn’t believe that Magnus managed to defeat Lilith all on his own and even though they didn’t tell Jace, he just had a feeling that they were looking into it on their own. Maybe sent one or two of their people to spy on Jace and the others back at the Institute, to keep track of what was happening and Jace had really a lot on his plate, biting into his lip as he was getting nervous, ignoring Magnus’ command of waiting for Alec and Isabelle there in the meeting room and he just walked outside, going around the corner and Magnus face-palmed himself, but then hurried after him. He was going to bring more troubles to them if he went all on his own and Magnus was soon followed by Underhill and Clary as well - just in case. 

**

It’s been ten minutes and Isabelle was still sobbing in her mother’s arms, he couldn’t let go and while Alec was standing by their side, Isabelle was still gripping on the woman and Maryse wasn’t letting go either because she had been waiting for centuries to hold her children again. She didn’t get to be a part of their lives for long before - she left when Alec was a little over two and Isabelle was still a newborn, basically. The angels  _ punished _ her for falling in love, having to return back in heaven was painful. She didn’t get to see her children among all of those centuries, while the others could keep their eyes on Alec and Isabelle, Maryse was forbidden from doing so. Though, something told her that that was for the best. She saw Isabelle’s wings before and they were  _ black -  _ she had demon eyes and her heart twisted in pain once more because she couldn’t even imagine what in the world happened to her beloved children in the centuries that they’ve been apart, but she felt anger bubbling up from within. She could feel - the demon blood in them, running through their veins and that could have meant only one thing -  _ they have fallen.  _

Well, a part of them did. There were still traces of human and angelic blood in them as well - she couldn’t even imagine how confusing it must had been on them to deal with all of that and when she finally pulled back, tears streamed down her face once more as she gazed upon Alec, who was now leaning against the wall, a hand pressed against his mouth, tears still rolling down his cheeks. He had always been a silent crier, remembered Maryse and she stepped closer to him, Isabelle’s eyes not leaving their mother for even a second and Alec straightened himself up when their mother approached him and he managed a little smile. Alec also couldn’t keep his eyes away from Maryse - she was beautiful, stunning… Alec feeling himself getting choked up again and he looked away because he couldn’t break down again like he did before.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you,” said Maryse, her voice trembling and Alec closed his eyes, face twisting in pain when he heard his mother’s voice - he had been wishing to hear it again so many times. When they were sent down to Edom, he imagined Maryse singing to him like when she did when he was still young. Despite his young age, he remembered the songs. Maybe not the lyrics, but the melody resonated with him and now all of the memories were flashing in front of his eyes and he didn’t know how to handle it. So many feelings, centuries of buried down anger, sadness and desperation were coming out and he didn’t like it. But it also felt  _ good _ to be finally letting go of that self-control he had been gripping on so hard. Magnus was the only one who managed to make him feel so many things, but this was nothing compared to when he would open up to Magnus. And unlike then, now he didn’t know how to turn it off - how to turn on his mask and hide his feelings. His heart was bared and he didn’t know how to handle that.

“Mom, you don’t have to apologise,” said Alec and hiccuped, wiping away his tears and he puffed his cheeks. “We-we know how much you had to give up to keep us safe,” said Alec and Isabelle nodded. She was now standing by Alec, leaning against him and his wings came out, wrapping them around his little sister, who was a mess. She couldn’t speak as she was in shock, almost. Emotional shock that was and Maryse covered her lips once more when she saw the black wings. “The angels are the ones to blame, you-you shouldn’t blame yourself,” said Alec and hiccuped once more, biting on his lip and then he looked around. Magnus was nowhere to be seen and he sniffled. Where was he? He wanted him to meet his mother. But also-

“Your wings,” muttered Maryse and Alec shuddered. “Your eyes, I-” she said and teared up again. Alec was close to crying again - what was she trying to ask him? Or tell them? They clearly weren’t half angelic anymore - there was barely any angelic part left in them. They were dark, they were tainted, Alec feelings his heart breaking. She had made all the way down there just to see what they’ve become?  _ Nothing _ like she imagined, probably. Was she disappointed or maybe even- “You’re-”

“Fallen,” said Alec and shuddered. “It’s a long story, mother, it really is, but,” said Alec as he really didn’t feel like explaining it all over again. Not then, he just wanted to breathe properly, because this was too much. Also, he was surprised that she didn’t already know - didn’t angels see everything from up there and kept track of everything? Or was it that the angels have forbidden her from doing that  _ also?!  _ Alec felt anger striking from within, but he then calmed down in an instant and just shook his head. “I-I’ll tell you later,” he mumbled in the end and Maryse nodded. There was still that look on her face that Alec didn’t know what to think of it -  _ was it disappointment after all?  _ Alec felt his heart beating faster and he pressed his lips together. “Are you disappointed?” he asked, his voice small, feeling like a little boy again and Maryse gave him a shocked look.

“Disappointed?” asked Maryse with sheer disbelief in her voice and Alec only shrugged and looked away. Maryse wasn’t disappointed - she could never be disappointed with them. How could she? They were her children, they could never do anything that would disappoint her. But she was disappointed in many other things; the angels mostly for how they’ve treated her and her family. How they  _ tore _ her family apart and she didn’t even know about the most horrifying part of it all - the angels seen how the Clave mistreated her children, but they did nothing about it. Just sat there and watched how Alec and Izzy had been exiled, banished to Edom. “No matter what happens, Alec,” she said and reached up, cupping her son’s cheek. “You could  _ never _ disappoint me,” she said and shook her head. “There’s  _ nothing _ you two could ever do, I’ll always love you,” she said and Alec felt his lower lip shaking again and he couldn’t hold it back anymore, breaking down in tears once more as she hugged him again. 

Feelings his mothers wings being wrapped around him remembered him of his childhood - how Maryse would pick him up and allow him to play with her wings every now and then. There were little bits of it that Alec could still vividly remember and now that those protective wings were wrapped around him again, Alec could just sob and Isabelle closed her eyes. The two of them didn’t hear how footsteps were coming closer, but Maryse did and as soon as she sensed someone else present in the room, she turned around, unwrapped her wings from her children and stepped in front of them - she was aware they were at the Institute. Given Alec’s and Isabelle’s current position, they wouldn’t be wanted there and even though she knew they were working with the Shadowhunters, she didn’t want to risk it. She spread her wings and positioned herself in front of Isabelle and Alec and then hunched down. If anyone would want to hurt them, they would have to get through to them. 

Alec finally snapped out of it and saw that their mom was getting ready to strike when Magnus, Jace, Underhill and Clary ran from around the corner to them and he knew that he needed to act quickly. “Mom, wait, these are our  _ friends _ ,” said Alec quickly and Maryse stopped the magic that started gathering around her hands, but she didn’t move. As the four of them ran into the room, Jace’s jaw dropped because there really was angel and Alec really did address her with  _ mother.  _ That was- Jace needed a little to wrap his head around it and… did Alec just call him his friend?! That he did and the realisation slowly started sinking in for Alec as well and he wrinkled his nose - he was slowly coming back to his usual self. They had a lot of catching up to do with their mother, but for now, he just needed to let her know that they were on their side. 

“Did you just call me your friend?” asked Jace, feeling honoured, but also deeply touched. 

Alec looked at him, eyes scanning up and down and Jace could see fresh trails of tears on Alec’s cheeks, but he didn’t make a comment about it. “It was said in the spur of the moment,” said Alec quickly, but then cracked a smile and Jace chuckled - nervously, but still. “But, yes, mom they’re on our side, they’re good guys,” said Alec, his pride hurting for having to defend the Shadowhunters in the room (minus Underhill, he was cool) and he then looked at Magnus and glanced down a little bit. Still, he stepped closer and then took his hand, pulling Magnus with him and Magnus’ jaw dropped.

“Alexander-”

“Except for him,” said Alec proudly and then looked at the warlock, on the verge of tears again because he couldn’t believe it - the angel that came down on Earth was  _ their mother _ . “He’s my… I love him,” said Alec out loud and Maryse finally tucked her wings back and then looked around the room. The Shadowhunters were looking shocked - never have they thought they would be face-to-face with an actual angel. Magnus wanted to go and introduce himself to the woman, but Alec wouldn’t let go off him and Magnus gazed up.

“Alexander?” asked Magnus and Alec only leaned down and kissed him softly, his hands going up to cup Magnus’ cheeks and the warlock gently huffed, but then kissed him again. He could feel something wet on his cheeks, only to realise they were Alexander’s tears and his strong arms quickly went around Alec, keeping him close as the demon was again getting emotional, Magnus’ hand drawing in gentle and uneven patterns against his back and he then looked at Maryse, who was looking at their way -  _ her son was loved.  _ She could feel the amount of love that the warlock held for her son and despite not knowing him (yet) Maryse smiled through her tears. She was happy, her children were surrounded by people that cared for them.

“She found us… finally. Magnus, by the Angel,” muttered Alec and then gripped onto the warlock, hiding his face into the crook of Magnus’ neck and Magnus only kissed his cheek. So, his mother in law to be was an angel. His father was a  _ fallen _ angel - what a ride was that going to be. Though, in the ideal world, his father would never find out about this, but rumours travelled fast and Magnus only shook his head and focused on what was actually real. His love, silently crying in his arms and he only kissed his head again. 

Jace and the others were astonished and in awe - the Lightwoods were freaking badasses.

* * *

**A few days later **

Things were slowly getting back on track - kind of. At least they all tried to get back to the world they once used to know as normal and Magnus decided to do that with hanging out with his friends at his club, Alexander of course coming along and the warlock was beyond excited, because it had been a long time since he and his friends had all gotten together for something else than to make a plan to win against Lilith, and just have fun. So, since Alexander was coming along, he was looking forward to it even more. But what he didn’t expect was to see someone else tagging along and that someone was Underhill, Magnus trying not to freak out and be too jealous, because he still didn’t understand why Alexander liked him so much as a friend. But they did get along pretty well and Magnus blinked a few times, but tried not to make a scene. So, the three of them made their way to the Pandemonium and were now searching for Ragnor, Catarina and Raphael. Alec was having fun, but one could easily see that clubs weren’t right up to Underhill’s alley and he was just looking around and tried to fit in. As much as possible.

The reason why Alec invited Underhill along was because he kind of felt sorry for him - Jace and Clary were off doing their own thing. Isabelle was hanging out with Maryse at the moment as they were catching up - they all had a lot of catching up to do, but especially Maryse and Isabelle - they needed some crucial mother-daughter bonding. And with all of them being together, Underhill really had no one and it pissed Alec off - to see that Jace and others just forgot about their friend. So, Alexander decided to be the biggest  _ and better _ person, so he invited Underhill along, who immediately took Alec’s offer. Anything was good than being alone at the Institute, no questions asked. So, there they were, Magnus holding Alexander’s hand as he was pulling him through the crowd, loud music playing in the background and Underhill was just trying not to get lost.

The truth of the matter was - Alec had gotten closer to Jace and Underhill during the last few days now that the truth was out in the open - about him being part Shadowhunter as well (at least in the past). It was still a part of him, whether he liked it or not, so he decided to give it a chance. Underhill was a good friend, but Jace was… Jace. In his own way, Alec liked him as well, but he would  _ never _ admit it out loud. His big ego would never allow him to do so and he was just smiling as he was looking around and he couldn’t wait to take Magnus dancing again as memories of their past time dancing at the Pandemonium flashed in front of his eyes - now, that was a good evening and, boy, did he want to get Magnus all hot and bothered again. It was  _ hot _ how easily the warlock was affected by him and he just had a feeling that it was going to be another good evening for him. 

For the first time in  _ centuries _ Alec felt truly happy. Their mother was back with them, the danger was finally off the radar, he was happily in love and even had some friends - life was good for the demon and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. It was just… it seemed almost too good to be true and when it seemed like that - it usually was. But, Alec didn’t want to jinx himself or his sister, so he said nothing and just went along with it - he allowed himself to be happy and finally free of all of the worries that usually pestered and troubled his mind. 

As soon as they reached Magnus’ friends, they sat down and Alec smiled as he wrapped an arm around Magnus and pulled him closer, kissing him deeply and made Magnus’ friends snort, Raphael rolling his eyes. ‘’God, go grab a room or something,’’ said Raphael and then sipped on his drink, Magnus glaring at him, but all that Alec was doing was proudly smiling - almost showing off if Magnus was honest. Showing Magnus off? Magnus grinned and then just playfully smacked Alexander’s shoulder.

‘’Oh, just let them be, Raph,’’ said Catarina. ‘’I mean they’ve been through a lot, they can get to live a little bit,’’ she said and waggled her eyebrows, Magnus feeling his cheeks redden a little bit and Alec nodded - that was why he liked her the best among Magnus’ friends. She wanted what was good for Magnus!

‘’I mean, yeah, but do they really have to…  _ ugh,  _ never mind,’’ said Ragnor because Magnus started making out with Alexander just because he could and in the end the other warlock just stopped complaining and looked elsewhere, making Underhill laugh and he then just shook his head, scanning the place around him and he bit his lip. Yep, that really wasn’t his scene, but he was happy that Alec invited him with - he finally felt like he was wanted, in a way. Though, it made him kind of lonely - Alec had Magnus, Clary had Jace… and when he looked around the place, there were quite a lot of couples, especially on the dance floor and he just looked at his glass and emptied it. 

‘’I think I’ll go grab another round,’’ he muttered and before Alec could tell him that he could go grab them all a round of drinks, Underhill walked away and made his way to the bar and was about to order himself another glass of beer when he looked up and his jaw dropped. He was about to tell his order to the bartender, but as he opened his mouth, nothing… absolutely nothing came out and he pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes - why was he there? Fuck, the vampire’s green eyes were way too distracting and-

‘’Um, yes?’’ asked the vampire and scanned his next customer - a Shadowhunter. Rather unlikely for a place like Pandemonium and usually he’d complain when the customers weren’t complying and telling him his order, but  _ this _ time he didn’t mind it too much and he then hummed. He had seen the hunter before - at the table with Magnus’ friends and he hummed. He knew Raphael pretty well, so maybe they were all friends and any friend of Magnus’ was a friend of his. The vampire, Marcel, smiled happily and then leaned a bit closer to the hunter that was lost for his words - the bartender was  _ very good looking _ and the blonde hunter couldn’t look away for quite some time and Marcel chuckled. ‘’Knock, knock, is anyone in there?’’ asked Marcel and gently tapped Underhill’s forehead, who snapped back to reality and once he realised how lame he was being he just looked down and pressed his lips together.

‘’I-I want a beer?’’ he asked and Marcel smiled.

‘’One beer coming right up,’’ he said and winked. As he was being winked at, Underhill flushed even more because he wasn’t used to this - being flirted to. Sure, in all of his years in being a Head of the Institute, even back in Idris, he had a few friends that he liked more than just friends, but he never really got anything out of it. Of course, they were  _ Shadowhunters _ , so Underhill never really thought of anything. It was friend zone for life, so when this beautiful Marcel gave him one of the prettiest smiles, which was followed by a wink, his brain started melting and he didn’t know how to respond. Like at all. ‘’And my phone number with it too?’’

‘’Huh?!’’ snapped Underhill and Marcel started laughing. As Underhill didn’t want to stand out even more, he just sat down on the bar stool and then cleared his throat, but Marcel didn’t seem to mind it. ‘’I’m sorry, but you are?’’

‘’Marcel, Magnus’ friend,’’ he said and the carried on by saying, ‘’and very interested. Maybe in sharing a drink with you?’’ he asked and Underhill did not understand why this guy was interested in him but as he looked at his friends and saw Magnus winking and Alec whistling, plus giving him thumbs up - Underhill just turned back to the bartender and laughed nervously, deciding to share a drink after all. Maybe happiness waited for him as well in the future?


	19. Chapter 19

_ ‘’And are you sure that it’s a good idea?’’ asked Alec and looked up at the man that he loved, pressing his lips together. He didn’t know what Christian was suggesting was an actually good idea - he claimed that it would help the Shadowhunters, but quite honestly a lot of people would get hurt and he didn’t feel too confident about it. To punish innocent people like this - even if they were of demon blood and he then took in a deep breath. ‘’I mean, they didn’t really do anything bad, did they?’’ asked Alec and then shifted from one of his legs to the others and chewed on his lip. His gut feeling was telling him that this wasn’t going to end well and he just wanted to go back home to his father and sister. But, the other took his hands into his and Alec shuddered, feeling his heart fastening a little and he flushed softly. One gaze into those eyes made him melt and he blinked a few times. _

_ ‘’Alec,’’ said Christian and Alec cocked his head to the side. ‘’Believe me, they’re not good people,’’ he said and Alec was very perplexed. He didn’t hear them doing any bad deeds, so he didn’t understand, but since he trusted him and thought that Christian was doing this for the greater good, he decided to listen and he just nodded. ‘’They have demon blood in them, so they’re already bad people to begin with,’’ he said and Alec clicked with his tongue. It still didn’t feel right and he then shrugged and Christian’s eyes darkened because that was for the first time that he didn’t have full control over Alec and he didn’t like that. He needed to achieve his goal or the Downworlders would- _

_ ‘’But it’s not their fault, is it?’’ asked Alec and then looked around the room. ‘’I mean,’’ he said and shook his head. ‘’It’s not their fault that they were born like that,’’ he said and then pressed his lips together. ‘’I mean some of them were turned later, but most of them didn’t have a choice in it,’’ he said and still didn’t quite believe his lover that he was right about this and Christian clenched his jaw and grabbed Alec’s shoulder. Alec flinched when he felt that the hold around him was quite tight and he didn’t like the look in Christian’s eyes - he would get it more and more lately and he swallowed thickly. _

_ ‘’Alec, we need you,’’ said Christian and then his facial expression softened up all of the sudden and he reached down for Alec’s hands. ‘’I need you,’’ he said and Alec started wavering - he was being manipulated into doing horrible deeds and he didn’t even know it. He was looking down, feeling his heart twisting a little bit - he could never say no to Christian and that was starting to be a problem. He did quite a few things that he wasn’t too proud of so far, but this… what Christian was asking of him now was just too… he couldn’t even describe it with words and he didn’t want to look up at Christian. Ever since he told Christian about his background - that his mother was an angel, he had changed. He started using him and Alec didn’t like it. But he also didn’t know how to bring it up - he didn’t want to lose the person that he loved.  _

_ ‘’I don’t know. The things you’re asking me to do-’’ _

_ Christian’s face darkened again and Alec finally looked up again. ‘’I can’t do this without you, Alec,’’ he carried on, trying to get Alec back on his side - using Alec’s love into his gain and Alec started backing away, but he was trapped. Not literally, but he felt trapped as he didn’t know how to escape from this. A part of him didn’t want to upset Christian, but the other one was just screaming to run away. He didn’t know what to do - he wasn’t ready to deal with such an important decision. Alec wanted to ask for more time, but Christian wasn’t letting him go because he knew that Alec would run away and probably never come back. Christian wasn’t a stupid person. ‘’I love you,’’ said Christian and tried to sneak a kiss, but Alec pulled away and he shook his head. _

_ ‘’I can’t,’’ he said and Christian grumbled, shoving Alec against the wall and the other one’s eyes widened because he didn’t expect something like this from Christian. Honestly, he did, but he never showed any signs of aggression towards him and now Alec was scared because he upset Christian to the point that he lost his control and… Alec still thought that Christian actually loved him, so he blamed himself for upsetting Christian - he didn’t listen to him, so Christian was upset. But- _

_ ‘’If you really loved me, you’d do this for me,’’ snapped Christian and Alec gulped - now that really hurt. He really loved him, with every cell of his entire being and he swallowed thickly as Christian made him look into his eyes and Alec didn’t like what he was seeing - where did the man that he fell in love with disappear off to? This was like looking into a stranger’s eyes and he couldn’t recognise him at all. ‘’But, quite obviously, you don’t care for me, do you?’’ he asked and Alec’s jaw dropped, quickly shaking his head. Of course, he cared for him! How could Christian even think like that?! _

_ ‘’I do love you,’’ said Alec and followed Christian after he pulled back and walk away. _

_ ‘’No, you don’t,’’ said Christian. ‘’Because if you did love me, you’d do this for me without even thinking about it twice,’’ he said and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’But, you don’t care for me at all and you just proved it to me. Thank you, I love you so much - I would do anything for you. If roles were reversed and you’d ask something from me, I’d do anything for you. Because I love you unconditionally and you can’t see that,’’ he said and then turned around again.  _

_ Alec’s hands were shaking because he couldn’t believe that Christian thought even for a second that he didn’t love him and it seemed that the only way that he was going to make Christian see that he really did love him was to do as he said and Alec bowed his head down and then swallowed thickly. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t want to lose Christian - he made him believe that he was going to be the only one who would ever love him like that and he believed him. So, in the end, despite he hated himself for agreeing, he nodded and stepped closer Christian and just pressed his lips together. _

_ ‘’I’m sorry,’’ said Alec. ‘’I-I’ll do as you want me,’’ he muttered and Christian turned around, a grin spreading across his face and while Alec felt relieved, Christian believing him that he truly loved him, the knot in his stomach continue growing and- _

‘’Alexander!’’ heard Alec someone yelling out and he snapped his eyes open and he looked around -  _ where was he?  _ His eyes were unfocused and it took him a while to actually realise that he was nowhere near his former lover and that he was actually… he looked up and saw Magnus standing by the couch that he had been sitting on and Alec was slowly coming back to his usual self, but he still looked out of it. Magnus had just come from Catarina’s and he had been hanging out with his friends there for a little while. Alec decided to stay home for a change and when Magnus came back home he found Alexander sitting on the couch, eyes closed and muttering something under his breath. He didn’t know what happened, but Alec looked really scared and he was breathing hard. That and he was sweating, cold sweats, shivering and Magnus quickly sat down next to him. ‘’Alexander, it’s me, what happened?’’ he asked because it made no sense - everything was okay now. Lilith was gone, Maryse was back in Alec’s life, the two of them were happily in love. So, technically, Alexander was happier than ever and he was, but his past was still catching up to him and Alec didn’t know how to turn it off and he shuddered.

‘’I-I’m okay,’’ whispered Alec and then took in a deep breath. Magnus gently placed a hand against his forehead and gulped because Alec was really cold to the touch and he was biting on his lip - he felt guilty now for leaving Alexander behind alone like that. Though he said himself that he wanted to be alone for a little bit as well, so it seemed to work out on both parts. So, seeing Alexander like this when he returned back home made him… his heart broke and he gently wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. 

‘’Hey, what happened?’’ asked Magnus and Alec shrugged - he didn’t know. It was because he had nothing else on his mind - when he was in Edom he was busy plotting a revenge on the Clave any everyone once he would get out. Then when he was summoned by Magnus he had Lilith on his mind. After Lilith, it was the angel that turned out to be their mother. So, for once in centuries Alexander was completely  _ at peace _ and that was when his past decided to come and haunt him - he just couldn’t seem to catch a breath and he looked at Magnus and gently touched his cheek and then leaned closer to kiss him softly. Surprised by the kiss, Magnus kissed him back and then slowly pulled back and waited a little bit. 

‘’Mmm,’’ hummed Alec and then felt his heart slowly slowing down and he smiled a little bit. ‘’Feel better now, thanks,’’ said Alec and then sighed sadly. ‘’It seems my past is now out to get me,’’ joked Alec and Magnus raised a brow - what did that suppose to mean? It didn’t seem funny to him and he took Alec’s hand into his own and gently tugged on it. 

Though, Magnus had an idea what Alexander was talking about. ‘’Vivid memories?’’ he asked and Alec shuddered but nodded in the end and Magnus sadly smiled and gently made Alec place his head on top of his shoulder and Alec didn’t really protest as he liked it - he liked being reminded that he was now with Magnus and not that abusive and lying fucker, taking in a deep breath and then he reached out for Magnus’ hand, who gladly took it and gently buried his fingers into Alec’s hair. ‘’I shouldn’t have left you all alone,’’ muttered Magnus and Alec only shook his head.

‘’It’s okay,’’ he said.

‘’Is not,’’ said Magnus and Alec sighed, but didn’t say anything. ‘’So, what or who revisited you this time?’’ he asked as he could still remember the times his past was haunting him - his time from Edom. It didn’t happen as often now as it did in the past, but still…

‘’Christian,’’ muttered Alec and Magnus raised a brow. ‘’Oh, right. My  _ ex _ ,’’ he said.

‘’The one who betrayed you and-’’

‘’That’s the one,’’ he said and Magnus tensed up. Before Magnus it was only Christian - since then he never got emotionally involved with anyone. He did have quite a few guys to play with, but it was never serious. Since Christian, Magnus was honestly the only one that he opened up emotionally as much and finally allowed himself to love again and Magnus felt anger boiling from within as he wanted to travel back in time just so that he could punch the fucker’s face.

‘’It’s okay, now,’’ said the warlock and Alec nodded. ‘’He can’t hurt you anymore, I’m here and got you,’’ he said and Alec smiled and placed a kiss against Magnus’ neck and then tackled him down against the couch. Magnus was about to protest, but Alec just nestled himself next to Magnus.

‘’Stay like this for a while with me,’’ muttered the demon, who only wanted to feel Magnus up against him, to hold him and wipe away the memories and in the end Magnus only complied, wrapping his arms around Alexander, who was finally able to fully calm down. 

* * *

**Idris**

The fact that he had been called to Idris via fire message made Jace very sceptical - his grandmother, the Inquisitor suddenly wished to speak to him about some matters concerning the Lilith attacks and the recent attack on the Institute and Jace had a bad feeling about it. Nothing good could come out of this and he was sitting in Imogen’s office and was waiting for her in there. The message that she had sent was short, but he could just  _ feel _ anger behind it and he sighed because he didn’t know what was wrong now and he just crossed his arms on top of his chest and then clicked with his tongue. Maybe she wanted to congratulate them for saving the world, but that would be really out of her character, so Jace didn’t even try to get his hopes up. Instead, the nervousness only worsened by the time that she stepped through the door, giving her grandson a very stern gaze and Jace shifted on the chair - yep, he wasn’t here because Imogen wanted to congratulate him. 

Jace wanted to be polite, so he stood up and wanted to shake her hand, but she just shut him down with one gaze and he sat back down  _ immediately _ and then he cleared his throat. ‘’Madame Inquisitor,’’ he said and Imogen made her way to her desk and then sat down, gazing across the desk and then she sighed. ‘’So, you wanted to see me?’’ he asked and then held in his breath, kind of praying that it wasn’t going to be  _ that _ bad and in the end, the woman finally nodded.

‘’Yes,’’ said Imogen. ‘’I have some very serious and oppression matters to discuss with you,’’ she said and Jace managed a little smile, but it was just there to hide the nervous feeling. He just had a feeling that it was going to be much worse than he thought and it was. ‘’It’s about the recent attacks,’’ she said and Jace’s smile disappeared into thin air and he then perked up. So, he was right, it was about the attacks and he just looked down - the Clave just wouldn’t stop sticking their noses into things. They should just accept that they’ve saved the world, did it really matter  _ how _ ?!

‘’Um, yes,’’ said Jace and then clasped his hands together. ‘’I-I’ve already handed in my report about all of the attacks,’’ he said and then looked down. ‘’How we’ve managed to defeat Lilith with working together with the Downworld,’’ he carried on and then wanted to add many more things - how the Clave didn’t really do anything until it was almost too late and he just shook his head, trying to ignore his growing anger, so he just forced another smile and Imogen sighed.

‘’I’ve read your reports, we all have,’’ she said and Jace perked up. ‘’And there’s just so many things that don’t add up,’’ she carried on and Jace felt his heart fastening and he just tried to play it off being all cool, but it was starting to show on his face - the concern and he just crossed his legs. ‘’You mention working with the Downworld, yes, but I think that you’ve missed out a few very important details,’’ she carried on and Jace shifted on the chair again and it was very clear to Imogen that he wanted to disappear from there.

‘’I have no idea what you’re talking about.’’

‘’Interesting,’’ she said and then studied his face. ‘’You know, I’ve found it also very  _ interesting _ how you’ve managed to make so much progress in the case all of the sudden, the amount of power it would take to  _ close _ the rifts and such,’’ she said and Jace glared at her because he didn’t like where this was going. Did the Clave really figure it out?! ‘’And I think I finally understand it now,’’ she said and Jace was still playing stupid - he was admitting  _ nothing.  _

‘’I mean what can I tell you, you give the warlocks far too little credit for their-’’

‘’Someone mentioned, and I quote, being saved by a nice lady with cool black eyes,’’ said Imogen and Jace’s world was slowly crumbling apart because  _ they had figured it out.  _ And after all that they’ve done… to  _ save the fucking world,  _ now was the Clave really going to throw this into their faces?! Alec and Isabelle had been nothing but nice (okay, maybe tried to kill him a few times, but that was all in the past) and it pissed Jace off so much, clenching his jaw. ‘’Have you been working with demons, Jace?’’ asked Imogen and Jace looked down. 

‘’I-’’

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck - what should he say?! _

* * *

‘’All good now, darling?’’ asked Magnus. It’s been an hour later and he and Alexander were still curled up next to each other, both of them too lazy to actually stand up and do something productive. But after recent events, they needed to rest, so that was what they decided to do. Alec happily nodded and was humming along as Magnus was still massaging his head - it felt nice and he just took in a deep breath. The awful headaches stopped - as it turned out, it was their mother trying to contact them. She had been looking for them all around the town and one of the side effects were the headaches. But all was good now and he just purred, kissing Magnus’ jaw and just relaxed.

‘’All okay now,’’ muttered Alec. The awful memories were gone for now - not to say that they wouldn’t return in the future, but it was going to take time to properly heal from  _ everything _ and he just slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Magnus. ‘’I love you,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ cheeks reddened a little bit.

‘’I love you too,’’ replied Magnus and earned himself another kiss. How lucky was Alexander to have met this wonderful man and to have him fall in love with him as well? And to think that Magnus loved him despite his  _ many _ flaws was still beyond Alexander’s comprehension, but he wasn’t going to question it. Instead, he deepened the kiss, grinning a little bit when Magnus let out a little muffled gasp and just as he was about to bite into Magnus’ lower lip, the warlock’s phone started ringing and Alec’s anger was back. Magnus sighed, but pulled out his phone - maybe it was serious?

‘’If it’s Jace, tell him-’’ started bitching Alec, but Magnus shook his head.

‘’It’s Underhill,’’ he said, surprised and Alec perked up. His anger faded a little bit, but he was still pretty annoyed. Magnus answered the phone call - Underhill  _ never _ called him of all people. And if he did, it was usually something to do with work or a more serious matter, so Magnus didn’t really hesitate to pick it up. ‘’Hello, Underhill?’’ he asked and Alec just waited there for the phone call to be over so that he and Magnus could carry things on from where they left them off - before Underhill decided to so rudely interrupt. They were friends,  _ but _ no one got to interrupt him and Magnus getting it on!

‘’ _ Magnus?’’ _ asked the voice on the other side of the phone call and Magnus narrowed his eyes. Underhill sounded  _ concerned _ and so, Magnus’ concern grew as well. 

‘’Yes, what happened? It’s unlike you to call.’’

‘’ _ Right. Is Alec there? _ ’’ he proceeded by asking and Magnus looked at Alec, who arched a brow. ‘’ _ It’s kind of an emergency and I’d really need to speak to him _ ,’’ he said and Magnus huffed, but then nodded.

‘’Hold on,’’ said Magnus, speaking to Underhill and then looked at his boyfriend. ‘’It’s for you.’’

‘’Me?!’’ asked Alec and gave Magnus a confused look, who only shrugged, but then put his phone on the speaker and signed Alexander that he could speak. ‘’You need me?’’ asked Alec and then waited for Underhill to start talking - it took him a while, almost as if Underhill was nervous.

‘’ _ Alec, hi! _ ’’ he finally said and Alec nodded. Magnus was listening as well, but kept quiet as he was quite amused. ‘’ _ Okay, I know that I said that it’s an emergency, but maybe I’ve overreacted, _ ’’ he said and Alec looked at Magnus. ‘’ _ Here’s the thing - that evening when all of us went to grab those drinks at Pandemonium and that I ended up sharing a few drinks with that bartender… Marcel!’’  _ he said and Magnus was already holding back his laughter. Ah, so it was that kind of an emergency and Alec was just confused. ‘’ _ So, you see. I gave him my number and he just texted me! _ ’’

Alec blinked. ‘’And you’re calling me because?’’ he asked and Magnus was shaking with laughter all over as this was ridiculous and hilarious to him. Alec looked annoyed, very annoyed because he didn’t get why Underhill had to interrupt him and Magnus just because he got one text from the vampire. 

‘’ _ I don’t know what to write back! _ ’’ whined Underhill and Alec’s jaw dropped.

‘’You’re joking, right?’’ asked Alec. ‘’Please, tell me that you’re joking,’’ he said as all of the expectations he had of Underhill - for him to be this wise and experienced Shadowhunter were slowly falling apart. ‘’So you called me because you want what… for me to flirt for you?’’ he asked and that was when Magnus finally burst into loud laughter and Underhill gasped.

‘’ _ Did you put me on speaker _ ?!’’ asked Underhill as embarrassment hit him like a ton of bricks. ‘’ _ I told you I need Alec, I… Magnus this is not funny. It really isn’t, I’ve never really had a serious relationship, so please can you  _ not _ laugh at me! _ ’’ was pacing Underhill all around and Alec was also on the verge of bursting into laughter. But he didn’t. Because of  _ friendship.  _ Or whatever.

‘’I’m not laughing at you,’’ said Magnus and then laughed again.

‘’ _ Uh huh!’’ _

‘’Marcel’s not scary, you know?’’ asked Magnus in the end and Underhill stayed silent. ‘’I mean I don’t know him  _ very _ good, but enough to know that he doesn’t bite,’’ he said and then shook his head. ‘’He’s one of the softest and kindest people I know, so I don’t get it really why you’re acting like this.’’

‘’ _ Tch, I didn’t say he’s scary. He’s sweet! _ ’’

‘’So, I don’t really-’’

‘’ _ He wrote to me again! _ ’’ said Underhill, freaking out and after Alec heard a loud thump - probably Underhill’s phone falling from his hands to the floor - he also started laughing because this was ridiculous. 

‘’All okay there, Theo?’’ asked Alec and cracked up - it’s been a while since he had laughed so hard and that day he needed that. 

‘’ _ He asked me out on a date! _ ’’

‘’Aww,’’ said Magnus. ‘’That’s awesome.’’

‘’ _ So, I say yes, right _ ?’’

‘’Yes!’’ said Magnus and Alec in unison and then started laughing again, leaving Underhill grumbling under his breath, but in the end, he also smiled on the other side of the phone call. There he was, at the Institute, talking to the guy that he liked and also…  _ he had a date later that week.  _ Life was going great. For now.

* * *

**Idris**

‘’So what if I have?’’ asked Jace finally back as he was done with pretending and lying and…  _ everything _ , basically. He needed to set the record straight and that was that the Clave was shit with their so-called  _ help.  _ ‘’Something needed to be done - as you weren’t doing much helping, ma’am,’’ said Jace and then showed Imogen how annoyed he was by that. But the Inquisitor didn’t look too concerned by that.

‘’The Clave was doing everything-’’

‘’Nothing,’’ said Jace, jumping into her word. ‘’You did nothing, I had to come here quite a few times to see how fucked up the situation in New York was, so quite frankly, I have no regrets. I had to do what I had to do to keep the city and the citizens safe,’’ said Jace. ‘’Because this is what  _ we _ do, try to keep Mundanes safe,’’ he said. ‘’Or have you forgotten it?’’ he asked and then pressed his lips together.

The woman looked visibly upset by those words. ‘’So you go ahead and betray us completely,’’ she said. ‘’If it wasn’t bad enough to work together with that  _ warlock _ ,’’ she said, meaning Magnus and Jace’s eyes darkened. ‘’You had to go ahead and work with  _ demons _ ,’’ she said and shuddered. She carried on explaining how he betrayed his race but Jace didn’t listen. He felt sick and just wanted to be gone. But it worried him - what were the consequences going to be?

‘’Yeah, well, if it wasn’t for  _ Magnus _ , all of us would be-’’

‘’So, you admit it. It was the  _ warlock _ who summoned the demons,’’ she said and all of the colour drained from Jace’s face. Oh,  _ no. No, no, no, no.  _ If she would find out that Magnus truly was the one who summoned the demons then that was going to be it for him, wasn’t it? He’d lose his position, his job, his… Jace shuddered. He didn’t like taking credit for something that he didn’t do, but he had to do something. The Clave was flawed, they were corrupt and… if they found out that a Downworlder summoned a demon and then worked with them-

‘’Magnus didn’t summon the demons,’’ said Jace and Imogen stopped talking. 

‘’Then who did it then?’’ she asked and rolled her eyes.

Jace doubted that she’d buy it, but he still took in a deep breath and then said, ‘’I did,’’ he said and Imogen’s eyes widened, her face twisting in shock and Jace grinned. ‘’Surprised, aren’t you, Madame Inquisitor?’’ he asked. He knew that there would be more questions, but luckily for him, Jace could come up with bullshit quite quickly, so he was covered. For now. Maybe. He swallowed thickly and waited for Imogen to say something. 


	20. Chapter 20

“It’s amazing and scary how much the world has changed since I’ve been down here,” commented Maryse and Alec smiled. It was true - he got to witness it changing slowly. He had been summoned a few times and got to witness the change gradually. Still, it amazed him to see how fast the humans were changing their lives and he hummed in agreement. Alexander was sitting on one of the buildings together with his mother and they’ve been just gazing down upon the city. The demon couldn’t stop smiling because he was really happy at the moment, holding on her mother’s hand and Maryse grinned. “And yet, some things never change,” she commented and looked down, Alec’s hand gripping on hers and Alec narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“You don’t remember?” asked Maryse and smiled softly. “Ever since you’ve been a baby, you’d always hold my hand when I was near you,” she said and smiled softly. Alec’s eyes widened - that he couldn’t remember! “It was so adorable,” she said and then her smile was growing. “It’s nice that you haven’t grown out of that,” she added and Alec shifted his gaze down a little bit, but then shyly smiled in the end and Maryse grinned.

“I can’t remember that,” confessed Alec and Maryse shrugged.

“It makes sense, you were very little,” said Maryse and then sighed happily, scooted a bit closer to her son and then just gazed up in the sky. “So glad that I’m finally down here,” she muttered and Alec perked up. Yes, he still had so many questions that he didn’t understand - the angels just forgave Maryse all of the sudden and let her visit?

“Mom, can I ask you something?”

“So, go ahead, honey.”

“It’s about the angels,” said Alec and huffed under his breath, Maryse nodding. “How… I mean it makes no sense, no offence. But after centuries and centuries, they’ve finally seen that Isabelle and I aren’t evil? I mean I don’t understand,” he said. He couldn’t understand why did the angels have such a sudden change of heart.

“I wish I had a better explanation,” said Maryse, but she really didn’t. “Raziel had come to me to tell that they’ve made a huge mistake. I don’t understand what happened, but I could hear whispers through the centuries,” she said. “How you and Isabelle were… evil or something,” said Maryse and clenched her jaw. “I didn’t believe any of those awful rumours, not even for a second. And then… it turned out that the angels have been mistaken,” said Maryse. “It makes little sense to me as well. I don’t understand what went down here, because I wasn’t allowed to watch over the two of you. But, as soon as Raziel told me I was free to leave, I didn’t ask any further questions because I didn’t want him to change his mind. All that I wanted was to be reunited with my children,” she said and Alec nodded. It made sense on his mother’s part, but the angels were just- Alec dwelled on it for a few more seconds and then his eyes widened because all of the pieces suddenly fell onto the right places and the puzzle was complete.

Alec finally had his answer to why the angels didn’t do anything when him and Isabelle and him were sent down to Edom -  _ they thought that they were bad people.  _ Which made absolutely no sense, they were part angel, but angels didn’t like things that were out of the ordinary - an angel and a Shadowhunter children were never born before that and after it. So, they were convinced that the angelic blood might had been tainted or- Alec didn’t now, but… “That’s why the angels did nothing when the Clave banished Izzy and me into Edom,” escaped past Alec’s lips and Maryse’s eyes widened -  _ what?!  _ Who was banished to Edom?!  _ What?!  _ Maryse’s heart fell into the pit of her stomach and she looked at her son, who was now just thinking and looking up towards the sky as well. 

“The Clave did  _ what _ ?!” snapped Maryse, her protective side out immediately and she was already half on the way to creating a portal to Idris and- “Alec, honey, what did the Clave do to you?” she asked as she finally calmed down, because....  _ no, how could they allow something like that?  _ How could the angels allow the Clave mistreating her children like that? Robert was a good man, so she knew that he probably did everything in his power to have kept their children safe, but- Maryse shook her head and her hands were shaking visibly - someone was going to pay. Because the Clave did this to her children, they were fallen because of them. Not that it mattered, Maryse loved her children unconditionally no matter what, but just the sheer thought of what they had to go through-

“Mom, calm down,” said Alec, but it was useless. “It’s all in the past, so it’s no use-”

“What did the Clave do?” asked Maryse, her voice strained and Alec swallowed thickly, looking down and he took in a deep breath. He knew that it would come to this eventually - them having to explain what happened to their mother, but Alec really didn’t know where to start. It was such a long story, yet in the end he only took in a deep breath and finally confessed to his mother about everything - about Christian, how he was manipulated into doing terrible things to Downworlders, which was probably why the angels thought that he was evil or impure. It would make sense, the angels could easily argue that Alexander had a choice in it, which he did - he could have said no, but the manipulation and control that Christian had of him made him unable to say no. Alec proceeded telling her mother about the trail, what happened,  _ everything  _ and Maryse was just sitting there and listening to all of the horrible things her children had to endure in the past and she… was heartbroken.

* * *

Jace was walking down the halls of the Institute and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. He had been in Idris for the last two days and now he was finally back - for now, but not for much longer, eyes travelling around the Institute and he shuddered a little bit because his days were counted now. His day as the Head of the Institute were very limited. If he was being honest, he didn’t even understand why Imogen allowed him to come back if it was all going to be taken away from him. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to cause too much drama so soon; she was planning on taking things slow and make all of this disappear quietly - as much as it was possible and Jace swallowed thickly, looking down and he placed his hands together, closing his eyes for the time being and he tried to get his breathing under control, but it was tough since he knew just what kind of faith was waiting for him and frankly, if his punishment was going to be so severe, he didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened to Magnus and the others if the Clave was about to find out the full truth. Jace then leaned against the wall and tried to keep up the bright smile on his face, but it wasn’t really working.

Being the Head of the Institute had never really been that much important to him - he was a soldier, but didn’t want to be the leader. Still, his grandmother had put him in that position about a year ago - after Valentine was defeated and he had been on that position ever since, but he didn’t like it much. Like it or not, Jace was still forced to act like the leader and he did - he did everything that was expected from him and with him as the Head of the Institute, New York was safe and sound. He never missed out on anything, but that was also because he had a pretty great team of friends that were working together with him, so it wasn’t just him. But with all that being said, it was soon going to be taken away from him and not just the position, but much more. 

The Clave  _ hated _ the idea of working together with the Downworlders, but once they’ve learned that Jace was the one who summoned the demons and then worked together with them, they’ve completely lost it. The Clave didn’t really care that they saved the world - yes, they were happy about it, but they were also cruel and stupid themselves. As if they were any better compared to Lilith, but well… Jace tried to explain it to them that they needed help since the Clave wasn’t doing much to help them, but none of them wanted to hear  _ any _ of it. Especially the Counsel Penhallow, who was furious when she heard what he had done. She knew that her daughter was good friends with him, so she was going to go extra hard on him - if she had learned that he exposed her girl to the demons, then Jace was going down. But the blonde insisted that he was one of the only ones that knew about the demons. Though he didn’t want to tell who the others were, so so far the Clave could only prosecute him and they will - he was being treated as a traitor and that hurt, because after everything that he had done, they were still-

Jace swallowed and then puffed his cheeks. At least it wasn’t the death sentence, but in many ways what they were going to do was going to be that much worse - he was to be  _ deruned _ , so everything was about to be taken from him. Jace was a good soldier, being a Shadowhunter was everything that he knew so far and just the thought of being nothing else but a weak Mundane scared him. He was nothing without his runes and powers, at least that was what he was sure of and he pressed his lips together. It wasn’t like he had told anyone else about it. Clary had tried calling him, but he wasn’t picking up - he couldn’t He still needed to come with the terms what his life was going to be and things were looking too bright. Jace couldn’t dwell on it too much longer because he soon saw Clary running from around the corner - she had gotten there as soon as she heard that Jace was back at the Institute and without even thinking too much about it, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, making the pain in Jace’s heart worsen, but as she pulled back, his usual cocky smile was back and Clary felt relief washing over her.

Clary worried a lot during the last few days - Jace wasn’t coming back home, he wasn’t picking up her calls, so she worried, of course she worried. But, she decided to wait as one could never be too sure what the Clave was up to and she didn’t want to make things worse. But Jace was back now and she happily went up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips up against his, making Jace smile a little wider. “You’re finally back,” she said and Jace nodded, winking to her. “I was beginning to get really worried! Why were they keeping you there for such a long time?” she asked and Jace hummed, but wasn’t going to tell her the truth. 

“Sorry for the delay, Clary,” said Jace and then crossed his arms on top of his chest and grinned. “I guess they just wanted all to congratulate me for doing such a good job on my work,” he said and Clary arched a brow, but didn’t question it too much as it would only make sense - Jace did a good job with keeping the Institute secure. Still, they had others helping them, but the Clave couldn’t know about the demons, so Clary didn’t think of it too much. “Prepared this long speech for me and, well,” he said and sighed happily. “There’ve been events planned out only for me,” he said. “Others had the opportunity to meet Jace, the legend,” he carried on and sounded so believable that he almost believed himself as well - oh, how badly he wanted all of this to be true and Clary snorted, but then rolled her eyes.

“I see that they’ve inflated your ego even more,” she joked, but still kissed him again and happily sighed. “I’m glad your back, I’ve missed you,” she carried on and Jace smiled softly, cupping her face and then he nodded - he had missed her too. He had missed everyone that was dear to him and he swallowed thickly. 

“I’ve missed you too, Clary,” he said, pressed her lips against hers once more and then looked around the place. “I hope the place isn’t in too much of a chaos,” he carried on and then turned around, Clary walking behind him and then took his hand, linking their fingers together and Clary shook her head.

“All’s good. Underhill and I kept things under the radar while you’ve been away,” she said and then grinned proudly. “Also, the Lightwoods popped in one or two times,” she said and Jace arched a brow - they still hung out around here? “It’s been kind of hilarious, if I’m being honest,” she said and Jace smiled - he wanted to hear all about it. It would take his mind off of things and he then cleared his throat.

“Oh, what happened?”

“Well, it all started when Underhill met this vampire, Marcel,” said Clary cheerfully and Jace smiled when he heard that his friend finally met someone. Underhill had told him how little hope he had for his love life, so his mood elevated once he heard that he finally met someone and he just kept on smiling as Clary continued rambling about other things that happened while he was away. While Clary managed to make the current sadness go away, the heartbreak and fear inside of Jace was just growing and growing with a rapid speed and he didn’t know how to stop it.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Life was slowly, but gradually getting back on track. Magnus was again open for business and had just finished brewing potions for the day and couldn’t wait to just sit back and enjoy himself for the day, though he wondered where Alexander was and what he was up to that day. He knew that he was meeting his mother that day, but he also mentioned something about grabbing a few drinks with Underhill at the Hunter’s Moon. 

Alec had heard a lot about this Hunter’s Moon and finally decided to go - supposedly, he was there to give Underhill some dating tips and all in all it was kind of hilarious to the warlock. Though, when he had spoken to Marcel, who was his friend, he could see that Marcel was pretty stoked about the Shadowhunter. Apparently their first date was a big success and Magnus couldn’t be happier about it - they made an adorable couple and it was still hilarious to him just how awkward Underhill was. He had no difficulties on taking on demons, but when it came to dating, he was easily frightened. Then again, Magnus understood - Underhill wasn’t officially out, so he was still being a bit careful. 

Magnus sighed - it was time that Shadowhunters started changing. Especially the Clave and he rubbed his forehead. Somehow he had a feeling that if the Clave was about to find out about the Lightwoods putting an end to Lilith, they wouldn’t be too happy. It wouldn’t matter that they literally saved the world. The Clave really needed to get their heads out of their asses and Magnus needed to stop thinking about t because he was starting to get really annoyed. In the end, he decided to distract himself with a good book - it had been months since he had last read anything, so he was going to enjoy himself that day - or so he thought. Because just as he picked out a good book and made himself all comfortable on the couch, he heard a popping sound and he narrowed his eyes - it looked like Alexander was back home?

Indeed, a portal opened right in the middle of Magnus’ living room, right above the coffee table (that Alexander had already history with) and through it stepped Alexander, who ended up landing not too gracefully, stumbling over his feet, but still somehow managed not to hit the coffee table. Yet, he was still unstable on his feet and he slowly looked around the room and then narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out where the hell he was. He was trying to go home, but he wasn’t too sober, so t was kind of difficult when one was a bit tipsy to portal around the place. Still, in the end, he came to the conclusion that it was indeed Magnus’ place and his smile widened as soon as he saw his precious boyfriend.  _ Yes, he had portalled to the right place _ and he felt quite proud with himself, wanting to make his way to the warlock, but then in the end just stumbled over his feet and landed on the floor. M

agnus was shocked, but also very amused -  _ was Alexander drunk?  _ His suspicions were confirmed when Alexander started giggling.  _ Yes, the demon was giggling _ and Magnus didn’t know what to think of it - it was rather unusual to see Alec in such a mood, but it also made Magnus grin and he quickly offered to Alec’s side to help him stand up. But it made him wonder - just how much did he drink to get to this state? It usually took Magnus quite a lot of glasses to get just slightly tipsy - not to mention that unlike him, Alexander was a demon, so it would take him a lot more than that and he just shook his head.

“Alexander?” asked Magnus and Alec only happily grinned - oh, he liked how Magnus said his full name. It made him grin and Magnus only rolled his eyes when he heard the amount of giggling going on. So, drunk Alexander was like this? It was kind of adorable, but still a bit annoying. “Mind telling me what is so funny?” asked Magnus and then helped Alexander on his feet, who was just swaying and then slowly followed Magnus to the couch and he just shrugged, but then kissed Magnus’ cheek and the warlock sighed. “Just how much did you have to drink?”

“Oh, a fuck ton,” said Alec and then blinked a few times. “I think I stopped counting at 20th glass of wine,” he said and Magnus’ jaw dropped - he was joking, correct? “What?” he asked when he saw the surprised look on Magnus’ face and he then grinned. “Oh, are you impressed? I can hold my liquor pretty well, you see,” said Alec and then clicked with his tongue. “Woah, the room is spinning,” he said and Magnus snorted, but still wondered what made Alexander drink so much - he just hoped that it was none of those horrible memories of his previous lover. 

“Mind telling me why you got so drunk?”

“It started with a bet,” said Alec and then sat up again, but soon slumped back down and then just rubbed his forehead. “I made a bet with Underhill - that I can get drunk,” said Alec. “The Shadowhunter didn’t want to do any bets, so in the end it was a bet with myself,” was rambling Alec. “So, here we are,” said Alec and then hummed. “Oh, and I totally kicked Underhill’s ass in pool,” he added on. “He can’t play for shit, you should see me, though. I was quite-quite good,” hiccuped Alec and Magnus was just shaking his head - so it was just kind of a celebratory drinking?

“So, let me get this straight,” said Magnus and Alec giggled. “What?”

“There’s no straight in this room, Magnus,” said Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes, but still smiled. He was glad that Alexander was a happy drunk though. 

“Fine,” said Magnus and then rubbed his temples. “You got drunk because you were in a good mood? Not because your past came to haunt you again like those memories of Christian like last time?” asked Magnus, concerned, but Alec pouted and then cocked his head to the side.

“Who the fuck is Christian, Magnus?” asked Alec and shook his head. The look on Magnus’ face made him collect himself a little bit. “I’m okay,” said Alec and Magnus huffed a little bit. “Because Christian sucked so much and didn’t even swallow,” said Alec and shook his head in disappointment. Magnus’ jaw dropped. “Had no talent, unlike you,” he said and waggled his eyebrows. “And he was a big fan of garlic, so I always had to suffer when he tried to kiss me. Don’t even let me get started on his sense of humour and-”

“Okay, I get it, it’s not because of him,” said Magnus and started laughing. “And I suppose you win the bet?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded happily, busy as he was trying to climb into Magnus’ lap. Wanting to get better balace, he unfolded his wings and flapped with them so that he could keep himself up, but ended up knocking over the coffee table and everything that was on it. Magnus let out a loud shriek and Alec rolled his eyes. 

“My coffee table!”

“Oh, it had it coming since the beginning. It broke my smoulder, remember?” asked Alec and Magnus started laughing. “These things are useless,” he said and rolled his eyes, glaring at his wings. But, Magnus was just quietly staring at them and couldn’t look away. So far he didn’t really get many chances to have a closer look at them, let alone touch them and he couldn’t help but wonder -  _ could he?  _ Would Alexander allow him to touch his wings? It was kind of personal thing, but still… he wanted to touch and-

“I think they’re beautiful,” said Magnus quickly and Alec snapped his head towards Magnus, who gave him a soft smile and then swallowed thickly. Alec stopped laughing at once and silence fell between them. He wanted to tuck his wings back in, but Magnus- “Don’t,” said Magnus quickly and Alec stopped. “Can I, um, I’ve always wanted to-to touch them, or… I don’t-”

“Wait, you’re being serious?” blurted Alec out. “You really find  _ these _ beautiful?” he asked as he, himself, hated his black wings. His angelic wings were a lot more- But Magnus quickly nodded and gently placed a hand on top of Alec’s right wing and Alec shuddered a little bit - nobody had ever touched his wings. Not even Christian and Alec took in a hitched breath because that felt odd, but also  _ good _ . So, so good and he pressed his lips together as he felt Magnus’ fingers travelling down his soft feathers. 

“I think they’re as stunning as you,” said Magnus softly and Alec pressed his lips together, trying not to show just how much it affected him, but it was useless as he was pretty much shivering in Magnus’ arms, who was still touching his wings. “So soft, there’s nothing ugly about them, Alexander,” he said and Alec shook his head.

“You’re just saying that, but-”

“I mean it,” said Magnus seriously and Alec swallowed thickly. “There’s nothing ugly about you, do you understand that?” asked Magnus and Alec suddenly got emotional, in a good way and was chewing on his lower lip. “I love everything about you - your demonic, angelic and human side,” said Magnus and Alec shuddered, leaning closer and Magnus smiled. “Your wings and eyes are beautiful, everything about you is beautiful, you stubborn demon,” said Magnus and chuckled. 

Alec didn’t know what to say. Maybe he was tearing up even, blaming it on the alcohol, so he just leaned down and pressed his lips on top of Magnus’. Because that was the only way he knew how to show how thankful he was. No one has ever called him beautiful and meant it. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Idris**

Jia gave her daughter a stern look and Aline quickly looked down, pressing her lips together and she clasped her hands together, feeling her heart jumping into her throat and she didn’t even want to know why she was called to her mother, trying not to think too hard about it. She knew that Jace had been called to Idris as well, but he said that things went well, though she could sense that he was hiding something, but he didn’t ask too many questions and just didn’t think of it too much. Ever since she and Helen had been sent to New York, she felt an enormous weight lifting off of her chest, because she could finally be herself and didn’t have to think all the time about her and Helen being caught. In Idris, she lived in an almost constant fear, but now that she was surrounded with her friends again, she felt a lot better and she just gave her mother a weak smile - what if someone told her about her and Helen? Aline felt her stomach dropping a little bit, because the risk was always there and she was getting tired of this - lying and pretending to be someone that she wasn’t.

Aline wanted to ask why she was called over to Idris, but luckily, Jia spoke first and Aline quickly looked back down, nervously chewing on her lip as she didn’t like this at all. And she didn’t like how much she couldn’t hide how nervous she was being. Taking in a deep breath, Aline only waited for her mother to finishing whatever speech was coming and worry about the consequences later on. “Aline,” she said and the girl flinched when he name was being mentioned. “Some things have been brought to my attention and I just want you to ask a few questions about those,” she said and Aline felt her stomach dropping even more, but then she only nodded and put on a weak smile.

“Yes, mother?” she asked as her foot was nervously tapping against the floor and she was already wanting to go back to New York. There was no way that she was ever coming back. Of course Idris was a beautiful place, but the sheer atmosphere made her want to gag. It was the toxicity of people that made her want to leave it for good and she just shook her head - if only the Clave would change a bit and be a bit more opened, then things would be a lot better, but until then-

“It’s about you friend, Jonathan Christopher Herondale,” said Jia and at first Aline felt relief washing over her because this wasn’t because of Helen, but soon her worries came back, because  _ why in the world would her mother want to talk to her about Jace?!  _ That only confirmed her suspicions that things didn’t go well the other day with Jace visiting Idris as he stayed there for a couple of days and she shifted nervously in her chair and just nodded, but didn’t say much as she allowed her mother to continue - she needed to know first what this was all about. “I’ve heard that he made a deal with a couple of demons,” she said and watched how her daughter’s face transformed into horror -  _ the Clave knew?!  _ About Alec and Izzy?! Aline swallowed thickly and then just shrugged, but the look on her face gave her away - that she in fact knew what Jia was talking about. “So you  _ do  _ know about them,” she said and Aline only shook her head.

“I don’t really know who-”

“Don’t lie to me, I’ve been fed up with all of these lies recently,” snapped Jia because she just wanted to know the truth and it seemed like she already had her truth. If Aline knew about the demons then that meant that Jace exposed her daughter to them and her eyes darkened with anger. Aline quickly stopped talking and making excuses and she just fixed her eyes on the floor. Jace lied though?! Aline knew that Magnus was the one who summoned both of them, so… Jace decided to take the blame? Aline wanted to tell the truth, but then she remembered that…  _ if the Clave found out that a Downworlder summoned a demon, demons, then things wouldn’t work out well with them _ and she quickly abandoned that idea. She wanted to protect her friend, but Magnus was her friend as well, so she just stayed quiet. “But it seems it is true, Herondale had betrayed his own kind,” she carried on and Aline’s eyes widened because that wasn’t right.

“No,” said Aline and Jia looked at her. “I mean yes, when you put it like that, but the demons didn’t hurt anyone, mom,” she said and Jia crossed her arms on top of her chest. “They  _ helped _ us, they took care of Lilith, helped us close the rift. We couldn’t have done it without them,” she carried on as she wanted the Clave to see that it was done from a good place and that the demons weren’t bad people - they showed more human emotions than the Clabe it seemed and Aline was starting to feel sick.

“So, it was done for a greater good, you want to tell me?” asked Jia and Aline quickly nodded. “Still, it doesn’t erase the fact that the demons have been summoned and thus Herondale has defiled his position as a Shadowhunter,” she carried on and Aline looked up at her mother again. “Hence, he had been given a proper punishment,” she said and Aline’s face went pale because she didn’t even want to know what the punishment that awaited Jace was. “A week from now, he’ll be deruned,” said Jia and Aline quickly went up on her feet, because enough was enough.

“You can’t do that,” said Aline and Jia was taken back because her daughter had never talked back to her - at least not like this. “I’m sorry, but you’re wrong and punishing Jace by deruning him just shows how barbaric and corrupted the Clave is, even today,” said Aline and shook her head. “You can’t take this away from him, after all he did to save the Mundanes and whole of the Shadow world,” said Aline and then walked closer to her mother. “ _ Please,  _ he’s my friend and you can’t-”

“The Council has already decided, it’s out of my hands now,” she said simply and Aline was outraged.

“Bullshit, you can still cancel this,” said Aline and Jia’s face turned even redder from anger. “Just wait till the Lightwoods find out about this,” she mumbled under her breath, but Jia heard her and her eyes snapped wide open - did she hear it right?  _ The Lightwoods?!  _ Those were the demons that Jace summoned?! Jia needed to sit down, because… she knew all about what happened to Lightwoods. It was one of the secrets the Clave was desperate to sweep under the rug. It happened in the past - centuries ago, but still… the Clave members  _ knew _ even though all of the files were destroyed in the  _ accident _ fire, though it wasn’t all that much accidental and she took in a deep breath.

At the time, people sides with the Counsel’s son, believed him instead of the Lightwood’s son and after seeing his  _ powers _ they really have been all convinced that the boy was a demon, even though it turned out that he was a son of an angel and a Shadowhunter. The Clave found out the full truth a few years later, after both of the siblings have been banished into Edom. Their father never stopped fighting for their justice and he managed to show the Clave that they were indeed innocent, but things didn’t really change after that. The Clave was afraid that if they were about to summon the siblings back that they would take their rage out on them. Besides, they couldn’t really publicly admit that they were  _ wrong _ , so they decided to hide it all. Made sure that people forgot all about the Lightwoods and eventually did - they all did,  _ but _ the Clave and Jia’s head was spinning knowing that the siblings were now indeed free and roaming the Earth once more. That was a hard pill to swallow and she needed a drink.

“Mom?” asked Aline and went over to her side, because she didn’t understand what was happening and Jia only hid her face into his palms and started tugging on her hair out of frustration. They needed to get the demons back to Edom because if they wouldn’t and if the public would find out the full truth then… things could be bad. It could maybe even mean the end of the Clave as they knew it and change wasn’t the Clave’s biggest forte, so… she needed to inform the others what was happening. 

“That will all be for now, Aline, you may leave now,” she said and Aline gave her a weirded out look, but she wasn’t going to argue for much longer and she quickly hurried out of her office, shaking her head. As she stepped through the portal that led her back to the Institute, she knew that she needed to tell the others about what the Clave was trying to do to Jace - she wasn’t going to allow that to happen. And the first people that were going to find out were the Lightwood siblings as they were their only chance to fight against the Clave. Well, them and the  _ angel _ on their side, feeling a lot more optimistic and she grinned. 

_ That was right, the Clave didn’t know about the sibling’s mother being back _ \- that gave her hope for the first time ever. Things needed to change, it was crucial that they changed and the change should happen  _ soon.  _ The public needed to know just how corrupt and cruel the Clave was.

* * *

There was a knock at the door and Alec slowly made his way to it. Magnus was in the shower and he decided to go ahead and open the door - as he was literally living there for a few months now, it was practically his home now as well and he took in a deep breath as he opened it. He was a bit surprised when he saw Aline standing in front of the door as it wasn’t like her to just show up unannounced. “ _ Angel, who is it? _ ” yelled Magnus from the bathroom and Alec turned around and then back to Aline.

“The feisty short girl,” he yelled back and a little grin spread across his face when he saw the look on her face and then just rolled his eyes. “It’s Aline,” he added on and Magnus announced that he would be soon joining them in the living room, so until then, he was alone with Aline and Alec just took her to the living room, sat on the sofa and stared at her. Aline felt a bit awkward as the sudden silence fell in between them - but both of them were silent types, so it wasn’t really a surprise. Alec remembered that it would be kind to offer her a drink, so he did that. “Um, do you want a drink?” he asked and Aline nodded.

“Fuck, yes,” she said. “After the day I had, I need something strong,” she said and shuddered, Alec narrowing his eyes. Alec was kind to Aline, but he… he didn’t trust her too much. It was nothing personal that he had with her, but given his past experience - he knew that she was the Consul's daughter, so he didn’t have too high hopes. Maybe she would soon turn her back on them and betray them all, but so far, she was doing good. 

“Do I dare to ask what happened?”

“Consul called me to Idris, said that she had matters to discuss and it’s just,” she said and watched how Alec’s face changed into an angry one. “I just had to come here as soon as possible,” muttered Aline and then stopped talking because she needed a while to collect her thoughts and get her racing heart under control, but it was difficult as she was all over the place. The visit in Idris has shaken her up pretty bad and he needed a while to calm down. Alec saw that Aline was in a real need of that drink, so he just snapped his fingers and summoned two whiskeys, making sure that he poured a great amount of it into Aline’s glass and then tried to wait patiently for her to continue.

Aline thanked the demon and then took a few gulps of it, emptying it in a heartbeat and Alec’s eyes widened -  _ wow, so whatever it was, it had to be pretty bad _ , he thought and then blinked a few times, Aline making a face as she swallowed down the alcohol for the last time and she wished she had more, but she needed to stay on track, so she just placed her glass onto the coffee table and took in a deep breath -  _ ah, she really needed that _ and she felt the alcohol running through her veins and warming up her body a little bit. Alec cleared his throat as he didn’t appreciate being put on hold.

“So? You came here to talk? Talk then,” said Alec and didn’t really try to hide his annoyance for her being at Magnus’ place and she cleared her throat -  _ right.  _ She really shouldn’t keep the demon waiting for too long and she then clasped her hands together, trying to convince herself that she was okay. But she wasn’t, her friend was in danger and she cleared his throat. “It’s about the Clave,” said Aline and as soon as she said that, Alec lost interest in the conversation, rolling his eyes and Aline pressed her lips together.

“Look, no offense, little girl, but,” said Alec and clicked with his tongue. “But I really don’t want to be sucked into more Clave matters,” said Alec as he really didn’t want to go down that road again. While he would enjoy nothing more but burning all of them, he didn’t want to go down that path again - he had lost so much while dealing with the Clave in the past and he really didn’t want to lose what he had now. His happiness meant more to him than taking out his revenge on them and that said a lot about him - Alexander had really changed and he just waved with his hand. “So, if that would be all, I would like to ask you to leave-”

“The Clave knows that we’ve been working with demons,” said Aline quickly and Alec stopped talking, but didn’t seem too bothered by it - why should it concern him? The Clave couldn’t do anything to him now - if they tried to take away his happiness, though, he wouldn’t hesitate this time. He’d burn them all, but until then he didn’t want to provoke them and Aline wasn’t done yet. “Alec,  _ please _ , you have to listen to me,” said Aline and just in that moment Magnus stepped into the room as well, walking in, dressed up finally and had overheard a little bit of the conversation before - just what in the world was the Clave up to now?! “Jace took the blame for himself when he was asked who summoned the demons,” said Aline and Magnus stopped stalling and he finally approached the two of them.

“Jace did  _ what _ ?!”

“H-he was asked who summoned the demons and-and I think that Imogen suspected you, Magnus, but,” said Aline and then chewed on her lip. “Jace took the blame, he said that he summoned Alec and Isabelle,” she carried on and Magnus needed to sit down, because that couldn’t mean anything good for Jace. “He figured that the Clave would probably… I mean I don’t even want to imagine what they would do if they knew the truth,” said Aline and Alec stopped complaining when he heard what Jace decided to do - to take the blame on himself and he… he protected Magnus with that. And anyone who protected Magnus were immediately in Alec’s good book - which was odd. Jace was a Shadowhunter and he was protecting a warlock, while risking so much. Magnus felt worry growing, because Aline wouldn’t make her way there if the punishment wasn’t severe.

“He’ll be deruned next week,” said Aline and Alec finally felt  _ something _ and that something was anger - the Clave didn’t change over the centuries at all. If anything, they had somehow grew to be even more cruel and it sickened Alec down to his stomach. And for the record, Jace wasn’t even one of his favourite people, but this was unjust and something needed to be done. Alec glanced over at Magnus, whose face was twisted in shock and disbelief as well, grabbing on Alec’s hand and shook his head.

“Oh, no,” whispered Magnus and covered his mouth with his free hand. “This is all my fault. I-”

“No, this isn’t your fault, Magnus,” said Alec harshly and Magnus glanced at him -  _ yeah, right. He was just saying that to make him feel better,  _ but Magnus knew better and he knew that this was all on him, chewing on his lip nervously.

“Alec’s right,” said Aline. “This isn’t on you, Magnus, this is on  _ them.  _ You saved all of us, you, Alec and Izzy, so it really shouldn’t matter what kind of blood is running through our veins,” she said and pressed her lips together. “This has been going on for far too long - I know well enough how Downworlders are seen in the eyes of the Clave. I see how they look at Helen… my girlfriend,” she said and Aline’s voice trembled, but Alec perked up -  _ oh?  _ “She’s part Seelie and I’m so fucking done with all of this,” she said and bit her lip. “It’s time that the Clave changes and if they won’t go about it the easy way, then… well… I’ll just have to make-”

Her speech touched Alec and he grinned. “Alright,” said Alec. “I’m game,” he carried on and Magnus looked at him, surprised. He was going to help Jace?

“Don’t tell me you’re getting soft for Jace?” asked Magnus and chuckled.

“Oh, no, I still don’t like him,” said Alec, but then hummed. “But, I’m the only one who can be mean to him and get away with it. Anyone else threatens him and they answer to  _ me _ ,” was what the demon decided on and the warlock chuckled.

“ _ Ah.  _ Yes, this makes much sense, Alexander,” said Magnus and snorted. But, yes, he was on board as well - the Clave needed to change. He knew that more than anyone else.

* * *

“Okay, so when did you plan on telling us that the Clave is planning on burning off your runes?” asked Alec as he suddenly popped into Jace’s office and that sent Jace flying up from his seat and his jaw dropped when he saw Alec popping inside of his office and he looked around - it was just him?! A few hours later since Alec found out about the whole deruning fiasco he decided to go check up on Jace to tell him that they had a plan. Isabelle and Maryse had a plan - they barely stopped Izzy from portalling over to Idris and burning down the whole place. Who knew that Isabelle actually liked Jace as well? Lightwoods were a bit special when it came to showing affection to other people - minus Magnus. Magnus got all of the attention and affection. 

Jace, who was catapulted on his legs dropped his jaw when he listened to what Alec had just said and he shook his head - how did he find out? Jace made sure to not tell anyone else and was already dreading the next week and what the Clave had planned out for him, but he was starting to accept his destiny, while at the same time he just wanted to run away and hide. He was terrified and he was starting to hide it very poorly as the time was running out. So, when Alec asked that he quickly closed his office and locked the door, Alec arching a brow and Jace turned to him.

“How did you find out?” asked Jace, trying to sound strong, but his fear gave him out and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Does it matter?” asked Alec and Jace stayed silent. “Ugh, okay fine, whatever. Aline told us,” said Alec and Jace blinked a few times - so she had been informed? Well, it made sense and Jace only looked down. Alec clicked with his tongue. “Don’t tell me you’ve already given up?” asked Alec and scoffed. “So this is the thought Jace Herondale everyone keeps talking about?” he asked and shook his head. “And then he bends at a first threat that who… the  _ Clave _ sends his way?” mocked him Alec and Jace gave him a pissed off look - he really wasn’t in the mood. 

“Shut the fuck up. You have no idea what you’re talking-”

“Oh, fuck I do,” said Alec and pushed Jace up against the wall with his magic. “And honestly it pisses me off seeing you giving up so fast,” said Alec and then started rolling up his sleeve, showing off his burned off angelic rune and Jace looked away because he knew what was coming up. “I know how it feels to be betrayed by the Clave, heck… I know how it feels to be betrayed by the whole universe, technically,” said Alec and Jace was quiet. “But I didn’t give up so easily, I  _ fought,  _ so you need to fight too, or it’ll be taken away from you and-”

“Yeah, and where did fighting back bring you then?” asked Jace because he was so tired of everything - he just wanted to have so peace. And not have the demon of all people nagging him about fighting back. “You achieved nothing, you were banished to Edom and-”

“If you value your life, I suggest you to be quiet,” said Alec and then clicked with his tongue. “I didn’t have anyone on my side - only my father and sister were there for me, but  _ you _ … you have many people on your side,” said Alec and Jace rolled his eyes. “You have Clary, Magnus and his friends, you have Aline and Helen… fuck it. You have Iz and I,” said Alec and Jace looked up at Alec, eyes widening. “My mother is on our side. Jace, an  _ angel  _ is willing to help you, so don’t you just sit on your ass and stop throwing yourself a pity party, because all of us are trying to help you,” said Alec, his face red with anger and Jace looked at him.

Jace didn’t know what to say - Alec was willing to help him? Jace took in a deep breath..  _ Isabelle and Maryse as well?  _ But Jace thought that they didn’t like him much, so… he didn’t understand. “Why are you trying to help me?” he blurted out, but for the first time in days felt a glimmer of hope. If what Alec was saying was true, then maybe- 

“You took the blame on yourself… you protected Magnus,” said Alec softly. “I… you’re not like the other Shadowhunters, I finally see it now and-” he started, but suddenly he felt Jace wrapping his arms around him and he pulled him down for what was considered by Alec’s standards a very forced and awkward hug. Alec froze and wanted to pull away, but then he heard a sniffle and he didn’t. Jace just didn’t know what to say at that point - he knew that he wasn’t a very good leader. He had many flaws as a person - he was arrogant and could be very annoying at times, so that was why not many people were fond of him.

And that was why Jace didn’t want to trouble anyone with this - he just wanted to deal with it on his own even if it was killing him. He didn’t even realise that people would care enough to be willing to help him - well, Clary would, but- So to have that so many people were on his side, that  _ Alec _ was on his side it made Jace’s heart swell with emotions and he couldn’t hold it back anymore, tears falling down his cheeks as Alec told him about their plan. 

“Um, Jace? You can let me go-”

“Thank you,” whispered Jace and then hugged Alec even tighter. Alec awkwardly looked around the place and then just gritted his teeth -  _ fine, he was going to be nice this time.  _

“Um… there, there,” said Alec and was awkwardly patting Jace’s back, while the blond hunter was slowly calming down.


	22. Chapter 22

‘’Okay, everyone else should already be in Idris,’’ said Magnus and rubbed his palms together as he was attempting to create a portal for himself and Alexander. It was a week later and Jace’s trial was supposed to take place in a few hours. It was their plan that as Jace would be in the middle of trial, they would break in - as it wouldn’t be all that difficult since they had an angel and two demons on their side - and try to make the people see what they were doing was wrong. Aline had told them that there had been members in the jury, which were regular people, not officials from the Clave, so that gave them some hope - maybe they would finally _ see _ that what the Clave has been doing was wrong and really unfair. And if that wasn’t going to work? Ah, well, then Maryse had a few cards hidden up her sleeve as she was pissed and ready to raise hell. It was _ personal _ and she wanted justice for her children so well, so they were saving Jace on the easy or the hard way and Alec gulped as he looked at Magnus.

Instead of walking towards him, he made a step back and Magnus looked at him, raising a brow - what was wrong now? They should have slowly get going as they needed to regroup and go over their plan once more, but it seemed that Alec didn’t seem too keen on the idea of leaving the comfort of Magnus’ apartment and go to Idris. Alec felt his stomach dropping just a little bit and he placed his hands together. If he was being honest, the thought of going back there scared him. It did even in the past - yes, he wanted to take out his revenge on the Clave, but if he wanted to, he could have done it many times as she was summoned back up from Edom. He just never did because he didn’t want to visit that place again and he made a step back and then looked nervously at Magnus.

Alec wanted to save Jace, he wanted to be a part of the rescue party, but at the same time he was terrified and it was showing on his face. He didn’t think that he’d be afraid to this extent, though and when he closed his eyes, memories started flashing in front of his eyes and he quickly snapped them back open again and took in a deep breath. He didn’t know if he could do this, he really didn’t and he looked at Magnus again, who now looked extremely worried and he hurried over to Alexander’s side. Alec was looking very pale and Magnus didn’t like it. Taking Alec’s hand into his own, Magnus gave him a soft smile and then gently touched his cheek with his free hand.

‘’Alexander, what is troubling you?’’ asked Magnus and Alec looked away, bit his lip and then just took in a deep breath. It was probably stupid, right? Idris was just a place, it wasn’t… it was dumb that he waa afraid of such a little thing, but every part of it had painful memories. And to be again stuck in that trial room, where he completely lost control and lashed out with everything that he got… Alec’s breath was shaking and he just gripped on Magnus’ hand. Alexander’s hand felt cold in his own hand and Magnus softly sighed and then pressed his lips together. Still, he didn’t know what could be the problem.

‘’I… it’s stupid,’’ said Alec and tried to laugh it off, but it wasn’t really working as his laughter wasn’t coming out and he was still nervous, his heart pounding in his chest and he then shook his head. ‘’It’s just,’’ he said and saw that Magnus was looking at him, giving him all the time that he needed to express himself properly, but Alexander had been getting better at it. ‘’It’s just the thought of going back to-to that place,’’ said Alec and then made a little pause. ‘’I-I haven’t been in Idris ever since _ then _ ,’’ he said. ‘’And again I’ll be in that trial room and I just… I can’t describe it, but I feel nervous and scared,’’ he said and then shook his head. For a demon he sure was afraid a lot, but Magnus told him that that was what separated him from other demons - it made him _ human _ and Alec didn’t really mind it too much. He was still working on it, though and he huffed. ‘’Like I said, it’s stupid and I just-’’

‘’Oh, Alexander, it’s not stupid to feel this way,’’ said Magnus quickly and Alec scoffed. ‘’I mean it,’’ he said and Alec looked at him - Magnus always knew what to say and he never seemed to judge him or his feelings and that was one of the many things that Alexander loved about him. ‘’It’s very understandable and if I’m being honest, you’re taking this way better than I first thought. You’re being very brave, Alec,’’ he said and the demon only shrugged it off, puffing his cheeks and Magnus gave him a soft smile. ‘’The thought of returning back to Edom does the same to me, but it’s even more… I think I wouldn’t be able to do it. So the fact that you’re willing, is very amazing.’’

‘’Yeah, but I’m still annoyed that-’’

‘’If it’s too much, you can stay here,’’ said Magnus softly and his thumb was caressing Alexander’s cheek. Alec also thought at first about staying behind and bailing the plan, but- ‘’I don’t want for it to be too much of a burden, so you can stay back, I’m sure others would understand,’’ he said softly, but Alec only shook his head because he couldn’t. He was a man of his words and he didn’t want to leave Magnus alone. Yes, this was still only about Magnus because the thought of him walking to Idris alone made him worried because the last time that the Downworlders were in Idris things didn’t end well for them. They were different times now, but still, Alec needed to go and he then just forced on a little smile.

‘’No, I’m going,’’ said Alec and Magnus sighed. ‘’I can’t have you steal all the glory this time, can I?’’ asked Alec, trying to joke and Magnus managed to crack a little smile and he giggled, but he still remained serious and he nodded then.

‘’Very well,’’ said Magnus. ‘’But if things get too intense be sure to let me know, yes?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded. Oh, yes, there was no questions about _ that _ \- Alec was going to make sure to voice out how he felt and honestly, maybe it was going to do him good. The thing what happened in Idris was still an open wound and maybe this would give him some closure. He just wanted the general public to know what the Clave did to him and his family - how they were bigoted and how they just…. things needed to change. If not, well then… too bad for them as he’d make them pay for what they did to him even though he promised to Magnus that there would be no violence and spilling of the blood be done. But the Clave was going down - metaphorically or literally. 

‘’Yeah,’’ said Alec in the end and Magnus gave him a smile of encouragement.

‘’And, no killing,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped - how did he know what he was thinking? Alec gave him a surprised look and in the end he pouted and clicked with his tongue.

‘’Ugh, why not?’’ he asked and then rolled his eyes. ‘’Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve killed anything. I need to, it’s in my blood - I’m a demon, remember?’’ asked Alec, who was now just joking of course and Magnus pinched the bridge of his nose and then gave him a little kiss, Alec returning it and he then gasped softly as Magnus pulled away and created a portal, gulping and he then nodded - _ okay, let’s get this over with! _Alec just wanted things to be over so that he and Magnus could be finally left alone in peace. If not, he was going to fly himself and Magnus off to an unknown place and just stay there forever.

‘’Behave, yes?’’ asked Magnus and Alec grinned, but then nodded and followed Magnus into the portal. The warlock didn’t miss out on how bad Alexander’s hand was trembling in his as they stepped through the portal and he felt anger bubbling up as well. If _ anyone _ tried to attack Alexander in there, he was going to off them himself because _ enough was enough _. He was raising hell if anyone dared to even look at Alexander the wrong way in Idris. Magnus’ warlock eyes were out and as he stepped through the portal - his anger got the best of him at the moment, but he quickly calmed down once they arrived to Idris - he needed to be in control over his magic!

* * *

**Idris**

‘’Jonathan Christopher Herondale,’’ said the Consul Penhallow and the blonde hunter flinched, but tried not to appear too nervous, chewing on his lip as he was checking at the clock constantly. He hoped they would come barging in pretty soon as the trial was nerve-wracking and he didn’t even know why the hell they bothered by it if his punishment was already said beforehand. At least he was being told like that, so it was just useless. The trial was just a little charade that the Clave put on to appear less suspicious. They even called the jury and everyone else was present in there. And they were fabricating this case so much that Jace didn’t even have the time to track all of their lies that they were spewing. He just sat there and was gazing down because he knew that it was completely useless. ‘’You’ve been found guilty of treason,’’ he announced and Jace rolled his eyes.

Just what kind of facts did she have backing this up? Right, working with the demons, _ right. _Ah, yes, the others in the jury were so easily led and brainwashed that they didn’t even think about thinking on their own. They just agreed along with the superiors and were too blinded to see just how stupid this whole thing was. Jace cleared his throat and didn’t even bother making a comment about it as it was probably just the way they wanted to provoke him - to get even more evidence from him that he was working against the Clave and their rules.

‘’Herondale, do you have anything that you want to say in your defense?’’ she asked with a little smirk as she knew that she had the power and Jace just shook his head. He looked defeated, but he was barely restraining himself from blurting out the whole truth. However, he knew that the ones in charge would manage to somehow twist his words and make the whole situation even worse. But Jace hoped that Aline would have some proper proof as she was to sneak into her mother’s office while the trial was taking place and find the hidden documents - _ anything _. Though Jace had a feeling that they had all been destroyed many, many years ago. It was just how the Clave worked and he just sighed. But, he promised that he’d fight until the very end to Alec, so that was what he was going to do!

‘’No,’’ was what he said in the end. ‘’It seems you’ve already made up your mind, so there’s no point for me to say anything, now is it?’’ he asked and then bit his tongue. Right, he needed to be quiet, but he said enough to piss Jia off and he smiled, but tried not to make it too obvious. It was still fun to make her angry even though he was the one being prosecuted on a completely fabricated case. He was just praying to all of the angels above that the Clave wasn’t going to let this happen _ again. _ Maryse said that they were all regretting their past decisions, so… Also, Helen and Aline were working hard on proving just how wrong the entire thing was. Maybe somehow when it all came together that they would have a strong case against the Clave and he gulped.

‘’Hurry up, guys,’’ he mumbled under his breath and looked at the clock again - his time was running out. The jury was about to make their final decision and Jace only closed his eyes and tried to calm down his racing heart. 

* * *

Magnus and Alec were able to find the others pretty much right away and after going over the plan a few more times, they decided to just go ahead and head over to the Clave, Alec feeling his heart fastening as he didn’t like being there at all. It showed on Izzy’s face as well as she looked pretty freaked out and her face was pale. Maryse could sense both of their uneasiness and quickly took their hands, standing in the middle of them, making Isabelle smile a little bit. Izzy was able to smile, but Alec couldn’t as there were too many bad memories, looking down on the place and he just shook his head, trying to snap back to reality. Maryse spread open her wings and wrapped them around her children, each hugging one of them and Alec looked at her.

‘’It’s okay, Alec,’’ she said and smiled softly. ‘’I’ve got you this time, I’ve got you both. After this no one will be able to hurt you ever again,’’ she said softly and Alec immediately felt a bit better, gripping on his mother’s hand, thanking her and then he looked over to her sister, who looked ready to strike. It was such a pity that they had to go about it the _ right _ way - she’d much rather deal with it the easy and fast way, snapping their necks and- Izzy shuddered as she realised she liked her train of thoughts a bit too much and then she swallowed thickly - right, she was slowly changing. Her humanity was slowly, but gradually coming back.

‘’Ready to kick some ass, Alec?’’ she asked and Alec happily nodded.

‘’Oh, yeah, I’ve been ready since they sent us down to Edom, sis,’’ said Alec and his eyes darkened a little bit. Magnus flinched, but then got his magic ready as well and then nodded - _ oh, fuck, yes he was so ready as well. _Centuries upon centuries being oppressed and now they would finally be dealing with them - it was a wish come true and he gave the Lightwoods a little nod.

‘’Oh, we’re ready as well,’’ chimed in Raphael, Ragnor and Catarina, who had come along as well - they were there to support and protect their friends. Clary was with them as well - and while Clary was there, Underhill, Aline and Helen were working from the inside. They made sure that all of the security was turned off - they didn’t sense the demons’ arrival into the city. It had to be done in secret, so that they could all sneak into the trial.

‘’Great,’’ said Magnus and his eyes darkened. ‘’Let’s go kick some Clave ass then,’’ he said and dark magic was sparking from under his fingers and Alec grinned - oh, he loved when Magnus got like that. Dark and dangerous and he _ loved _it.

* * *

‘’It seems that will be all,’’ said Jia and was pretty satisfied with herself as she turned around and returned to her seat. She was technically the judge, but she was also prosecuting again Jace - it was all messed up in more than one way and Jace shuddered when two guards started walking over to him. ‘’Lock him up, he’ll be deruned in the evening,’’ said the Consul and Jace’s jaw dropped - just like that?! Not even hearing the… then what was the point?! He felt two strong arms gripping at him and pulling him onto his feet, his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach and that was when his fight or flight response finally completely awakened and he tried his best to kick both of them off, but another pair of guards came to keep him in place and Jace was starting to really freak out when they started dragging him towards the door. It was finally at that moment when the door flung open and Jace smiled - _ freaking finally. _

‘’Get your paws off of my man,’’ yelled Clary as soon as she stepped inside of the room and didn’t even hesitate striking the two guards at the back, quickly pushing one into the wall and took upon herself the other one, who was two times the size of her, but she didn’t scare away. She was there on a mission to protect and save Jace and that was what she was going to do. And while she was taking care of the other guard, Raphael decided to deal with the other two, quickly freeing Jace from their paws and he then smiled proudly - it was kind of too easy though. Pity, he was looking forward to a greater fight.

‘’I… _ what is the meaning of this _?!’’ shrieked Jia and then tried to get the situation under control, the Clave members quite obviously freaked out as they didn’t get what was going on and commotion was starting to grow in the hall. ‘’Guards, get that girl under control and-’’ she started, but two warlocks stepped behind her and grinned.

‘’I’m sorry, Consul Penhallow, but the guards won’t be joining us anytime soon,’’ said Ragnor and showed his magic to her, making her flinch a little bit and Catarina grinned.

‘’Yes, they got a bit… tired out after we’ve been through with them,’’ said Catarina and flashed the woman a smile. Jia was completely outraged - how did the Downworlders get into Idris unnoticed?! And how dared they?! They were _ banned _ from setting a foot inside of it, so she- she reached for her Seraph blade, but Magnus made an entrance as well… and what an entrance it was indeed. He snapped his fingers and the Seraph blade that Jia was holding in her hands flew to the other side of the room and Magnus smiled.

‘’_ Magnus Bane _ ,’’ spat out Jia. ‘’I should’ve known it was _ you _behind all of this and-’’ she started, but Magnus didn’t let her finish.

‘’Let my friend go,’’ said Magnus and his dark magic was again sparking up under his fingers. ‘’I won’t repeat myself, this man right here is innocent,’’ stated Magnus and he heard some of the Clave members whispering among themselves and Jia was completely outraged. ‘’You are willing to _ derune _ a man that saved the city, maybe even the entire world,’’ he said and then shook his head. ‘’Technically it was _ me _, I mean I summoned Alexander so,’’ said Magnus and then he sighed. ‘’Ah, the details, suck pesky things,’’ he said and Jia’s face went really pale.

‘’So it was actually you!’’

‘’Of course it was me,’’ said Magnus and rolled his eyes. ‘’How could a Shadowhunter summon a Greater Demon of all things on his own, huh?’’ he then asked and then shook his head. ‘’But, then again, the Clave was never known to be quite smart,’’ he carried on and Jace snorted next to him - that was funny. And very true. 

‘’I suppose I should be arresting you then, you-’’

‘’Put one hand on him and you’ll be sorry,’’ said a loud voice above them, which made Jia and all of the other Clave members looking up. Jia’s face twisted in horror, because a demon appeared and slowly descended down, not trying to hide his wings at all. It was Alec that suddenly appeared in front of Magnus, keeping his wings out, so that Jia couldn’t get to him and he shuddered. He felt sick to be there again, closing his eyes, quickly opening them again and he then looked around the place. It looked pretty much identical to the last time he was there and he-

‘’_ A monster, I told you he’s a monster!’’ shrieked Christian as Alec was after him. It was in the middle of the trial that Alec snapped and lashed out with his magic. ‘’He is the devil, the devil himself!’’ _

_ ‘’Capture him!’’ yelled the Inquisitor and Alec turned around, tempted to snap his neck, but was held back and he shuddered. ‘’The boy was right - he is a demon. No Shadowhunter has suck powers. Prison isn’t good enough to hold him back, he needs to be banished for good. Alec started spiraling out of control and he- _

‘’Alexander, hey,’’ said Magnus and Alec was back in the present time. Magnus’ hand on his made Alec relax in a second and he shuddered, but then nodded - yes, he was okay and Magnus nodded, gave him a little smile. Alec huffed and then looked at Jia, who was terrified. _ She knew who he was, didn’t she? _

‘’I see you didn’t redecorate the place at all,’’ started Alec and looked around. Jia didn’t dare to speak and the others in the room were completely silent. They didn’t understand how the demon got into the building. It was safely secured and not even one alarm went off. Alec was grinning - the trio did him proud! ‘’Kind of a shame, this place looks exactly the same as on the day of _ my _ trial. I’m quite disappointed if I’m being honest,’’ he said and her face was getting paler. Not _ all _ Clave members knew what happened, only the ones in the higher positions and if Alexander would say too much then- Alec flapped with his wings and the Clave members gasped.

‘’He has wings!’’

‘’Is he really a demon? Demons don’t have wings like this!’’

‘’How did he get past the runes?’’

Alec cleared his throat. ‘’Funny thing, the wings, aren’t they?’’ asked Alec and Isabelle descended down as well, Jia shaking her head because _ both of them were back. _‘’Remember when ours used to be white, sis?’’ he asked and Isabelle’s eyes darkened, forming her whip into a staff and she nodded.

‘’Oh, I remember, brother dear,’’ said Isabelle and showed her wicked grin to Jia. ‘’It was right before we were wrongly accused of being _ demons _ and were banished down to Edom,’’ she said and the Clave’s members started whispering even louder - so, not all of them knew, huh? Alec grinned and stepped to his sister, looking up where the Consul chair was and he shuddered, being snapped back into his past.

_ ‘’You are getting what you deserve, Alec Lightwood. You’ve seduced my son with your demonic powers and then threatened all of the Clave. Not to mention what you did to those innocent people,’’ said the Inquisitor and Alec couldn’t even look at him. ‘’So banishment is your punished, boy, you will never be returning back to Earth.’’ _

_ ‘’I don’t-’’ _

_ ‘’Silence.’’ _

_ ‘’I… where will I be banished to?’’ _

_ ‘’Edom,’’ said the man calmly and Alec’s head started spinning once more. Hell. He was going to literal hell. He was punished for sins that he did not commit. And Christian was going to walk free. He was going to be free and- _

‘’Alec,’’ said Izzy and Alec was breathing hard, gripping on her hand. He did not feel good. Anger was bubbling up from within once more and he glared at the woman, his demon eyes out on the open and he _ snapped. _At the moment he really wasn’t thinking straight and he just couldn’t focus on the main goal, which was saving Jace and setting new changes to the Clave. At the time he was seeing red with revenge and anger and he thirsted after blood.

‘’You took everything from me,’’ grumbled Alec and started walking closer. ‘’I was not born a demon, but your kind took _ everything for me. _ I was part angel, so was my sister and you made us _ fall _ , you banished us… _ innocent _ people to Edom. Sure, I did horrible things, but I was manipulated into doing them. I was young, I didn’t know better, it was all of _ his _ fault, but you just sat there and watch it happen. You-’’

‘’I didn’t-’’

‘’All of you are exactly the same. Do you even know the amount of pain you’ve caused during the centuries to not only me, but others and now you will pay,’’ said Alec and started walking closer to her, magic flying under his hands, but suddenly he was stopped by Magnus himself, who wrapped his blue magic around him and pulled him back. Alec shuddered, but wanted to break free and Magnus hurried over to him, wrapping his arms around him and tried to get Alec to calm down. Alexander was triggered by all of this - Magnus knew that it would have been better for Alexander to stay back at his place.

‘’Just what are you all looking at?’’ shrieked Jia and pointed to Alec and Izzy. ‘’They’re demons, get them. It’s your only duty as Shadowhunter, so get them,’’ she ordered, but Magnus could see the split among the Clave members already. Just everything that they’ve heard made them uncertain of some things, but the others didn’t hesitate and they wanted to get closer to Alexander - not on Magnus’ watch as he stepped in front of him and closed his eyes, calling upon his father’s magic and some of them even started screaming when the ground started shaking - not only in the building, _ but all of Idris _ felt that. 

Alec looked in front of him and saw how Magnus made the members that tried to attack them fly off their feet and with one swift hand move he slammed all of them against the wall. _ That was all Magnus?! _ Alec shuddered, because _ amazing. _ Magnus looked at the others and then his father’s magic was back. ‘’Any of you try to touch him and you’re all going to be sorry to have ever been born,’’ he said, his voice deep and Alec shuddered - _ amazing after all. _He was slowly coming back to his senses, but if Magnus’ magic wasn’t holding him restrained, he’d snap. 

‘’Enough, _ enough _,’’ screamed Jia. ‘’All of this circus - it has been enough of it!’’

‘’Enough indeed, mother,’’ said a voice suddenly and Jia turned around, eyes wide when she saw Aline, her daughter standing by the door and she wasn’t alone. Next to her were Underhill and Helen, who were following her, but she felt on fire - she was shaking and adrenaline was overflowing her. Jia looked shocked and Aline smiled. ‘’I can for once prove to all of you in here that what was said is all true - that the Clave… centuries ago made a huge mistake and condemned two _ Nephilims _ to banishment in Edom,’’ said Aline happily and the Clave went quiet. Jia’s face was pale and she shook her head - _ no way, there was no way. _

‘’There’s no way you can-’’

‘’Indeed I can. You should really learn to keep your journal hidden better,’’ said Aline and Jia swallowed thickly. ‘’I mean it wasn’t easy to find the evidences as the Clave had swept everything under the rug centuries ago, but I had some amazing help,’’ said Aline and looked at Helen. ‘’You see, _ my girlfriend _, helped me with-’’

‘’How dare you claim that-’’

‘’Sit,’’ said a voice and Jia’s body moved on its own, but listening to her at all and her face was twisted in horror when she sat down. ‘’And be quiet,’’ carried on Maryse as she finally decided to join in on everything. She has been watching from afar and heard enough. ‘’It’s your job as a parent to sit and listen to what your child has to say,’’ she said and finally showed herself. Jia started shaking her head because _ an angel appeared in front of everyone _ and she looked at Aline.

‘’Oh, yes, and we have an angel on our side,’’ she said and smirked. ‘’Did I fail to mention that?’’

‘’An… an… an angel?!’’ stammered Jia and there was commotion among the Clave members once more, but none of them dared to strike again when they saw the angel standing among them. Fear was hammered into them and they stopped. They were petrified. ‘’But… how-’’

‘’Raziel has sent me down here,’’ said Maryse and Alec looked at her. ‘’Things have to change,’’ she said and Magnus blinked a few times - she was _ lying _ ? Not really, but she was making things up as she went along, which was the truth. Jia let out a high pitched gasp and Maryse grinned. ‘’The Clave _ will _ pay for what they’ve done to my children,’’ she said and her voice darkened.

‘’Oh, and I also think you should know that I’ve already sent all of the evidences to other Institutes,’’ said Underhill proudly and Jia’s shock was just growing because… once people would find out the truth, they… the Clave was never going to be the same again and- Jia dropped her head and finally admitted her defeat. Now, things weren’t going to be changed in one day, but it was _ enough _ to put doubt in every member of the Clave that didn’t know what was going on. Enough, because once one would waver, it would be a domino effect and things would slowly fall apart - the corruption was revealed, new order would be put in place, ideally. It would take time though and they knew it, but it was _ a start. _

And while Maryse and the others would work hard on that, Magnus took Alexander out of the building and portalled them away from Idris because it was apparent that Alec didn’t feel good in there. Being back at Magnus’ loft worked like magic, taking a few moments to realise just what all happened that day and it finally hit him - _ they made history that day. _Hopefully. 


	23. Chapter 23

“Alexander, drink this,” said Magnus softly as he came from his kitchen, carrying a tray on which there was a teapot and two cups. He had made some tea for Alexander because his boyfriend needed something to calm down - something else than alcohol this time as Magnus knew just how quickly one could spiral out of control and Alec looked at him, nodding. Being back at Magnus’ made him feel better already, but he was still shaking all over. He didn’t know what was wrong, but the memories just wouldn’t stop from coming up when he was in Idris and he didn’t like how he felt - weak and completely out of control. Good thing Magnus was there to stop him from doing something stupid and ruin their well-prepared plans of taking the Clave down  _ the legal way.  _ No matter how tempted Alec was, he didn’t want to stoop down to their level and he then huffed, but thanked Magnus as he poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him.

“Thank you,” said Alec softly and felt a bit better when Magnus sat down onto the couch next to him and scooted really close to him. Magnus placed his hand behind Alexander’s neck and his fingers gently caressed that spot for a little while, making Alec close his eyes and he exhaled deeply, cracking his eyes open and he found himself looking into Magnus’ cat eyes, Magnus dropping his glamour for the time being - to cheer Alexander up. He knew how much he loved his cat eyes, so he tried to do everything and anything that was in his power to make Alec feel at ease. “Oh  _ hello _ ,” said Alec and winked, making Magnus chuckle and he shook his head.

“How are you feeling?” asked Magnus softly and Alec looked down at his tea, taking a small sip of it and then let out a happy hum as he swallowed, the tea warming up his body quite nicely and he nodded along - a lot better now, he thought and then opened his eyes again. “The tea should help you calm down,” he explained and Alec bit his lip, but in the end he nodded as it was helping. A little bit, through his heart was still not calm as he was waiting for a new flashback to overcome him and he knitted his brows together, placing the cup down and he just shook his head.

“I feel better,” said Alec and then looked down. “It’s good you stopped me back then because if you wouldn’t, I… I’d probably end up killing someone in there,” said Alec as he still remembered all of the anger and rage that was washing over him back then and Magnus gave him a sad smile, but then shook his head.

“You wouldn’t,” said Magnus, but Alec shook his head.

“No, I  _ would have _ ,” said Alec and then cleared his throat. “I hate how I can’t move past this,” he said and gritted his teeth. “How I can’t just make myself  _ forget _ my past, it would’ve been easier, but-” he started and then gritted his teeth. “I just  _ can’t _ . And one would think that after centuries I’d be over it, but  _ no _ ,” said Alec and then rolled his eyes. “And I  _ hate _ it, how weak I am,” he said and Magnus quickly shook his head - Alexander was anything  _ but _ weak. He still couldn’t see how amazing he was - if only he could see the way Magnus saw him as. Maybe then he’d finally stop bringing himself down all of the time.

“Alexander, it’s okay,” said Magnus and Alec rolled his eyes because he knew that Magnus would say something like that. Though, it did make him smile because Magnus still believed in him. While Alec himself was slowly starting to loose all of the hope that there was a way for him to ever get past this. “The things they’ve put you through,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him. “They don’t just go away. Back down in Edom you weren’t really dealing with it, you were just trying to survive the best way you knew how - to push it down and ignore it. And it worked for some time - trust me, I know what I’m talking about,” said Magnus and Alec pressed his lips together and groaned.

“Would be easier if I just erased my memories,” said Alec and Magnus clicked with his tongue and looked at him. That would be an easy way - he had tried to take it himself as well quite a few times, but in the end he always chickened out of it, only to realise how devastating it would have been. Magnus was through many difficult times, but it made him the man that he was today and he liked himself now, even though he still had many flaws. He learned how to love those parts of himself as well, but it took  _ years upon years _ to get where he was now and Magnus only gently touched Alec’s shoulder.

“After escaping my father from Edom,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him - he knew the general story, but Magnus never really discussed it into great details. And Alec also didn’t want to pry too much, but- “It was tough,” said Magnus and then pressed his lips together. “I… hurt many people even after that and  _ hated _ myself for it,” he said and made a little pause. “And the horrifying memories of what my father made me do haunted me, they still haunt me to this day,” said Magnus and Alec shuddered -  _ so he still wasn’t over?  _ “And frankly I don’t think they’ll ever go away, but it gets easier with each day, little by little,” said Magnus and Alec looked down.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“It’s okay, I can talk about it now without any problems,” said Magnus softly and took Alec’s hand into his own. “And I blamed myself for not escaping earlier,” said Magnus. “If I did, many of the horrible things that happened could have been stopped, but I,” he said and then puffed his cheeks. “My father is a master in manipulation, emotional manipulation is the worst,” he said. “He made me believe that no one would ever love me for being who I was. And he was the only one who had the same eyes as me,” said Magnus, for a moment seeming so vulnerable that it made Alec’s heart crack. “So I stayed. Even though it was killing me. Soon I realised he was just a crutch, that I didn’t need him, so I finally rebelled, trapped him in Edom and  _ left _ for good,” he said and then shook his head. 

“Magnus, that must had been…” started Alec, but his voice trailed off and Magnus only shrugged. “How-how did you get out of…  _ this _ ?” he asked, meaning how did Magnus stop blaming himself. How did he manage to make the memories stop coming up from haunting him with every step of the way and Magnus smiled softly.

“I met Ragnor, then Catarina,” said Magnus and then chuckled. “I surrounded myself with people who loved me,” he said and then his eyes darkened a little bit. “Though I met along quite a few people that didn’t truly love me and continued hurting me, but,” he said and Alec perked up - that was Camille, right? Magnus’ ex girlfriend and Alec still wished he could meet her and show her just how wrong she was for ever messing with his boyfriend. “But those who truly cared for me stayed and… here I am,” he said, wearing a little smile on his face and then he just looked up at Alec, who was being quiet, but was nodding along. “And things will change for you too, Alexander, you’ll see,” said Magnus and Alec nodded after a while.

“Yeah,” said Alec and then pressed his lips together. He was surrounded by people that cared for him, so that was the first step, or so he guessed. “I’m sorry, Magnus, I’m just-”

“Don’t you ever apologise, angel,” said Magnus and kissed Alexander’s temples. “You’ve had a long day - we all have,” said Magnus and wondered how things in Idris were going. He’d need to check up on them later, but for now he needed to be there for Alec until he’d fully recover from the visit in Idris. “Which reminds me - how about I prepare us a bath?” he asked and Alec perked up.  _ Us?  _ Did that mean they would be taking one together? Alec’s eyes lit up and Magnus started laughing because Alec was hilarious when he got into  _ the mood _ . Still, he hoped it was genuine and not Alexander forcing himself for his sake. 

“I’d like that,” said Alec softly in the end and Magnus nodded, kissing his forehead and then stood up. Not wanting to be alone, Alec followed Magnus into the bathroom, where he helped him prepare the bath for them. Taking one together was going to be therapeutic for both of them as they both needed it after the eventful day that they had.

* * *

Leaned up against the bathtub, having Magnus gently massage the shampoo into his hair was when Alec finally reached his internal peace - it was like Magnus’ fingers were magically rubbing away all of the bad memories that troubled the demon. Receiving such a soothing massage made Alec smile and Magnus was smiling as well because he could tell just how much was Alexander enjoying himself, scooting a bit closer and then gave him a little kiss on top of his forehead yet again. Indeed, Alec was in heaven after all and he slowly opened his eyes.

“I see you enjoying yourself,” said Magnus softly, Alec smiling and he nodded.

“You’ve got the magical touch,” reminded him Alec and Magnus smirked a little bit. It was kind of an awkward position they were in. Magnus was dying to get a bit closer to Alec, who noticed that and he slowly spread his legs open and lied back a bit more, inviting Magnus  _ in _ and the warlock chuckled a little bit but didn’t need to be told twice to get over to Alec and he happily scooted in between his legs, making himself comfortable, practically laying on top of his boyfriend, who was almost purring. “Oh, Magnus,” said Alec jokingly and Magnus winked up at him, but gasped softly when he felt Alec leaning down and pressing their lips together.

Their first few kisses were slow and gentle, Alec feeling Magnus’ hand coming up to cup his face as they kissed and Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus’ waist, keeping his left hand on top of Magnus’ chest and he smiled when he felt how hard Magnus’ heart was beating and they both gasped as Magnus pressed himself up a little bit and leaned his head back a little bit, which gave Alec a better angle to kiss him. Softly licking himself inside of Magnus’ mouth, the warlock moaned out happily when their tongues brushed up against each other and Alec smiled into their kiss -  _ yes. _ He wanted to hear more of Magnus’ moans - they were just intoxicating and he wanted to get drunk on them.

It was at that moment that Magnus felt just how  _ naked _ he was next to Alexander, whose wet and hard body was slowly heating up and he groaned a little bit, deepening their kiss and Alec grinned because  _ someone was really eager.  _ Feeling his cheeks flush a little bit, Magnus couldn’t really hold back anymore and he gently sunk his teeth into Alexander’s lower lip, while his hand went down, stopping on Alec’s chest and the demon gasped a little bit as Magnus started sliding his hand lower, gently grazing his skin with his nails, teasing Alexander further and Alec cursed mentally because Magnus was doing this on purpose, wasn’t he?

But Alexander like a challenge and he wasn’t backing down at all, sliding his hands down Magnus’ back, gently caressing his skin and then stopped his hands on Magnus’ sides, digging his fingers into the skin and then he opened his eyes a little bit, seeing Magnus’ face up close made him feel so many things. Magnus’ eyes were closed, his cheeks flushed and Alec chuckled a little bit, dropping his hands down onto Magnus’ ass and he gently squeezed that place, making the warlock let out a surprised yelp and he quickly pulled back from the kiss, only to be welcomed by Alec’s smirk that was plastered all over his face. Magnus cleared his throat and then tried to pull back all the way, but Alec’s arms around his waist were keeping him in place.

“Alexander,” muttered Magnus against Alec’s lips, who gasped. Magnus’ hot breath tickled against his wet skin and he was starting to get impatient. He didn’t want to hold back anymore, he wanted- “We should, um, we should probably-” started Magnus, but Alec couldn’t keep his hands to himself and he pulled Magnus closer, dropping his lips onto Magnus’ neck, which caused the warlock to take in a deep breath, the water around the splashing as Magnus couldn’t hold himself back anymore as well. He could feel himself getting painfully hard and he-

“Yes, Magnus?” asked Alec playfully, Magnus looking up at him and his eyes were uncollected and glazed with pure lust and hunger.  _ He wanted Alexander so much that it hurt.  _ Magnus didn’t say anything and then just leaned up and connected their lips into another kiss, that was a lot rougher, but still infused with love and affection the two men held for each other. “I thought you were saying something about…  _ getting out? _ ” teased Alec and Magnus cursed a little bit.

“I, um, I,” he started and then gasped when he felt Alec’s hard cock pressing up against his thigh and he looked down -  _ well, fuck.  _ It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who wanted to take things into bedroom and he- Alec smiled softly and then cupped Magnus’ face. “Bedroom?” finally croaked out Magnus and Alec smiled blissfully.

“Finally he asks,” said Alec and kissed Magnus again - indeed, bedroom it was.

* * *

“Wait, the sheets will all be wet,” commented Alec when Magnus threw him back against the mattress and Magnus let out a breathless laughter -  _ really?  _ He was really worried about that then? Magnus didn’t give a fuck and he just pressed Alec back down and then climbed on top of him, straddling his hips and attacked his lips again, making Alec’s worries about making the bed wet completely disappear as he felt Magnus’ hands roam all over his body and Alexander shuddered a little bit and he smiled when he felt Magnus’ lips on his neck, sucking into the skin not too gently and he let out a happy groan -  _ oh, yes.  _ He liked getting rough in the bedroom and Magnus was going about it perfectly, pressing his lips together and then he let out a shameless groan, making Magnus shudder a little bit and he felt his cock getting even harder if it was even possible and Alec let out a little chuckle.

Alexander moaned out on purpose - he wanted to see what kind of a reaction would he get from Magnus and it did no disappoint at all. He took advantage of the situation perfectly and he wrapped his arms around Magnus and flipped them over, so that Magnus was now laying against the mattress, his wet hair stuck to his forehead and he looked perfectly like that. He had alwass wanted to see Magnus Bane beneath him, against the bed and panting and he finally got his wish.  _ Yummy.  _

“That’s more like it,” said Alec happily and waggled his eyebrows. “You don’t mind it, do you?” asked Alec because he wanted to be sure and Magnus raised a brow. “If I take charge, it’s okay?” he asked and Magnus only laughed because was Alexander kidding? Did he really need to ask that when it was mroe than obvious that he wouldn’t mind something like that and he just pulled Alec back down on top of him and pressed their lips together. 

“Mmm, get over here,” said Magnus and slipped his hand in between them, showing Alexander just how badly he wanted him. Magnus wrapped his fingers around the base of Alexander’s cock and gave it a little teasing squeeze at the tip, making the demon let out an almost animalistic groan because this was too much - Alexander was really getting worked up and Magnus was enjoying himself to the fullest. He wanted to drown Alxander in pure pleasure and bliss and he grinned. “Can’t wait to feel you inside me,” said Magnus shamelessly and then continued storking Alexander in slow and lazy jerks, which made the demon even more hot and bothered.

“Magnus,” growled Alec and the switch inside of him finally swithced and he snapped. He grabbed Magnus’ wrists and lifted his hands above his head, making the warlock happily moan out because he liked being on the receiving end of things for a change. And if Alexander got a little bit dominating, even better and he chuckled, but then bit his lip because Alexander had his demon eyes on display and he groaned again.  _ Oh, yes, Alexander was really feeling in.  _ Magnus proudly smiled and he gasped softly when Alec rammed his hands into the pillow.

“Stop teasing,” growled Alec and Magnus gave him a little wink.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy it,” said Magnus with a grin and then laughed softly when Alexander leaned down to kiss him again and  _ what a kiss it was.  _ Their tongues and teeth clashing, Magnus panting for air but Alexander didn’t allow him to rest even for a second and by the time that Alexander pulled back, Magnus was already gasping for air, cheeks red and Alec lifted up, releasing Magnus’ hands and he then smiled proudly Magnus was such a beautiful ruin, wasn’t he? And it was all of his creation - Magnus looked delicious like this. And as much as he’d love to sit back and watch, he couldn’t wait much longer. 

“Turn around,” said Alec and Magnus grinned happily, turning around and got onto his knees, lifting his ass up and he spread his legs open - giving himself out on display only for Alexander, who was eating everything up and he had to hold himself back because he… it was too much and the warlock wiggled his hips.

“Cat got your tongue?” asked Magnus, but Alec quickly recovered and crawled behind Magnus, pressed a few kisses in between his shoulder blades as he was bending over, but then he looked down a he smiled. Alexander wasn’t a patient man, he really wasn’t and he just snapped his fingers, Magnus letting out a loud gasp when he felt suddenly slick and lubed up. He turned around and then chuckled - ah, Alexander really couldn’t wait, could he? “In a hurry, Mr Demon?”

“Can’t help myself, you look too hot,” said Alec and slowly placed a finger up against Magnus’ entrance and the warlock stiffened around his finger as it was slowly pushed inside. “Shh, relax, I’ve got you,” said Alec softly and Magnus nodded - it’s just been a while and he grabbed onto the sheets as Alexander was slowly prepping him, stretching for his wanting dick and he shuddered. Magnus was so tight and he couldn’t wait to bury himself inside, dropping his head lower and Magnus let out a loud and long moan when he felt Alexander adding in his tongue to addition to his fingers and he-

“Oh my fucking God,” gasped Magnus and Alec proudly smiled. Being compared to a God? Oh, Alec would take such a compliment every day of the week and he enjoyed hearing Magnus’ soft moans transform into little mewls as he continued licking him open. Magnus couldn’t wait much longer - he needed Alexander. He needed him right there and then and he let out a desperate moan because he- “Alexander, please… I need you,” moaned Magnus and Alec slowly pulled back. Yeah, he couldn’t wait much longer too and he wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock to- “No, wanna see your face when you fuck me,” begged Magnus and Alec quickly turned him around and then lifted his legs over his shoulders. 

“Gonna go slow, okay?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded, holding in his breath as he felt Alexander pressing up against his hole and he smiled in bliss when he was slowly being stretched open. Oh, Alexander was  _ huge _ and he loved taking him all the way in, shaking all over when Alec finally pushed himself inside and they both groaned, Alec looking down and he saw Magnus looking up at him. “Does it hurt or-”

“ _ No, _ ” said Magnus and then pressed his lips together. Alexander didn’t dare to move yet, feeling Magnus slowly relax around him and he kept kissing Magnus over and over, until Magnus gave him a sign that it was okay for him to start moving and Alec started off with a slow pace, thrusting into Magnus slowly, changing angles every now and then and Magnus was grabbing on the sheets and happily moaning away as he was being fucked into oblivion. Being held by Alexander was something that he didn’t experience in a long time - he felt  _ loved _ through and through and he couldn’t even put it in words correctly, but it just felt right and everything that Alexander did felt amazing. Magnus was in heaven for sure.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” said Alec and Magnus reached up with his hand to cup Alec’s face.

“You’re the beautiful one, silly,” said Magnus, trying to keep his breathing under control and Alec shuddered a little bit. He still wasn’t used to being called beautiful, but. He swallowed thickly and showed his demon eyes again to Magnus, who bared his warlock mark as well and Magnus happily smiled. Alexander decided to bare all of himself to Magnus and he arched his back a little bit and his wings were out and shivering, just like he was and Magnus’ breath was taken away for the second time because  _ fuck.  _ “So beautiful,” said Magnus and nodded in confirmation. Alec slowly leaned down and kissed his boyfriend softly.

“I love you,” said Alec softly as he was looking into Magnus’ eyes and Magnus wrapped his arms around him, gently stroking his beautiful wings as Alec started moving again, their bodies moving as one and Magnus closed his eyes.

“I love you too,” whispered Magnus, his voice getting higher and higher as Alec sped up his thrusts and together they reached heaven and far beyond.

* * *

_ “So you never really loved me?” asked Alec, his voice breaking as Christian started laughing at him. And just as he scoffed, Alec wanted to cry, but he didn’t want to give the fucker the satisfaction of being seen crying, especially not by him. “It’s all been a lie?” _

_ “All I really needed were your powers,” said Christian and rolled his eyes. “As if someone would truly love a freak like you.” he said and Alec pressed his lips together, his lower lip shaking because… Christian was right. No one would ever love him. “You’re a freak, Alec. I mean, you’re not a Shadowhunter and not an angel. What even are you?” he asked and then made a face. “Thank God all of this is over now.” _

_ “B-but I loved you!” _

_ “So? Didn’t you hear the part of me not loving you? Like I said no one will ever love you. No one. Absolutely no one.” _

_ Alec’s heart was twisting in pain and his eyes welled up. Christian was right - no one was ever going to love him. He was right. But… then something happened. Alexander frowned and suddenly stopped crying because Christian was lying to him. He was absolutely and completely wrong and he looked up at the idiot and he shook hs head. “You’re lying,” he said and Christian didn’t seem bothered by that. “You’re nothing but a manipulating liar!” said Alec. “And for your information, I have someone who truly loves me for me. Magnus is amazing!” _

_ Christian’s facial expression changed - he looked surprised. Christian was slowly disappearing, his face was being wiped and Alec jumped because- _

“Are you okay?” asked Magnus and Alec snapped out of it, looking down at Magnus, who was curled up next to him. “You’ve sort of blacked out on be back there. All okay?” asked Magnus and Alec looked around the room and then nodded. Yes, everything was okay. So it seemed. Did he just… make his memories stop from haunting him? He didn’t know, but- “Memories again?” asked Magnus, concerned and Alec nodded. “Oh-”

“No, it’s okay,” said Alec and then took in a deep breath. “I finally told Christian off and that he’s a liar. Also, I told him about you and how wrong he was,” said Alec and Magnus snorted a little bit, but he was glad. Alec seemed okay, for real okay this time and he hummed, kissing Alexander’s chest and he grinned when he saw Alec’s wings wrapping around him protectively.

  
  



	24. Chapter 24

It was going to take quite a while for things to start changing in among the Clave, but the first step was that all of Jace’s charges had been dropped in a matter of the next week and he was once again a free man. He wasn’t going to be deruned and Jace was forever going to be grateful to his friends - Magnus and Alec the most of them all. He was especially thankful to Alec, who had showed him that he shouldn’t have almost given up so easily and he was kind of looking on the world from a completely different point of view - he was a changed man and had just arrived from Idris back to the Institute. He was still the Head of the Institute, but he was kind of  _ done _ with that. It was just too much work and unlike others, he wasn’t a  _ leader.  _ Well, he was going to keep being the one in charge, but was in the process of looking someone to take over his place. All of this had been just too much for him to handle. He was an excellent fighter, but he didn’t like being in charge of so many things at once. Jace just wanted to be out of the constant spotlight that he had been put under given that he was related to the Inquisitor herself.

Though, it was a question for how long Imogen was going to keep that position as some of the members have already stepped down from their positions that they held on the Council. Some of them couldn’t handle working for such a corrupt group of people after finding out the truth. Others were just too scared to be mixed into the whole thing as they did know the truth. The Clave was slowly starting to fall and the whole place was in a complete mess. The public was slowly starting to realise that maybe things needed to change and it all started spreading around Idris - the news about the Lightwoods and what almost happened to Jace after he saved the world. The fact that the Clave was trying to sweep it under the rug  _ again _ didn’t sit well with many people and they were finally starting to open their eyes.

Then again, many of them didn’t really trust the Clave to begin with, but were just too scared to express their opinion out loud as they didn’t want to be prosecuted as traitors. However, that was probably soon going to be changing as well and Jace was more than happy to finally see the change happening and he was so proud of himself and all of his friends as they made this happen. Soon, maybe all of the bigotry could be ended and it could be the start of a new era. An era that wouldn’t be filled with racism and homophobia, but an era that could be remembered as finally reaching  _ peace.  _ Though working together was going to be needed from both sides. Not only the Shadowhunters, but a lot of the Downworlders would need to change their way of thinking as well. Though they were very well justified, changes would only happen if  _ all _ of them were work together. The  _ new _ Clave, once it was going to be formed, would have to do a lot of work to show that they were different from the old one. And that was going to take quite a few years. It wouldn’t all be changed over just a few days. But just like Jace, the others were also willing to put in the work.

Imogen hadn’t been seen in days and neither had Jia. Aline had spoken to her a few times and according to her, her mother was very lost and she didn’t know what to do. All of them thought that it would be for the best if she just stepped down from her position and it was probably what was going to happen. It would be the most ideal outcome as they all doubted that Jia would be actually willing to listen to them and see just how wrong they all were. It would be  _ ideally _ if she did, but they shouldn’t expect too much from the old members. Some of them were trying to give their new order a try, the others were again fighting against Jace and his friends. Things weren’t calm inside of the Clave - it was chaos and it was growing. That kind of scared Jace, but at the same time, it was to be expected. Some of the people were just too old and too stubborn to change and if force was going to be needed to bring them down, then, well… he was pretty sure that Maryse would have exactly zero problems with setting up peace once and for all.

Another question was - what was to become of the Lightwoods? Sure, Isabelle was usually hanging out with her brother or mother and Alexander was with Magnus. But Jace was pretty much sure that  _ some _ of the Shadowhunters, even if they would be on their side, wouldn’t be too happy once they would learn that the demons were actually free to roam the world. Then again, they used to be half angels way back in the time, so maybe some of them would be open to the idea of letting them be free. It wasn’t like they were doing any harm. If anything, they were helping out the New York Institute and since Jace had learned they were both previously part Shadowhunters as well, he was interested if they would maybe want to join their team for good. To be officially part of the Institute.  _ When they would wanted, Jace was never going to force the Lightwoods into anything - he had learned his lesson more than once.  _ And that was exactly why he called up both of them to the Institute that day, sitting in his office and was waiting for the siblings to pop into his office any time soon. That was until he heard some commotion from the hallway that he realised that the Lightwoods were probably already there and were already causing the commotion. Jace cracked a smile and then shook his head - sometimes he really _ couldn’t _ with them and he bit his lip, but stood up and walked outside, only to find that Alec and Isabelle indeed were the ones causing the commotion down in the main hall.

“Come on, Iz, let him down,” said Alec as he was leaning against the wall and watched his sister trying to deal with one of the hunters in there. Apparently he wasn’t too happy to see the demons walk freely around their Institute and he decided to approach them, which was a big mistake. Alec had learned how to control his  _ urges _ a little bit more as Isabelle over there as she was holding the idiot up in the air with her magic and he was grinning happily, demon eyes exposed and her bracelet has already transformed into a whip. Alec didn’t want to ruin her fun, but it wasn’t a very good idea to be hurting a Shadowhunter in public, especially not when everyone was watching. Though the others around them didn’t really seem particularly worried about this one, which was kind of hilarious.

“No, Alec, let me have my fun,” announced Isabelle and waggled her eyebrows. Ah, so she was only playing and wasn’t really thinking about hurting the hunter, which was an improvement. But it was still hilarious to see just how worried he was and Alec decided then to cheer his sister on, giving her thumbs up and Isabelle grinned. “Want to join in the fun, brother?” she asked and Alec glanced up at the terrified hunter and he then just shook his head. Nah, why even bother? 

“You have your fun - just remember, no killing, okay?” said Alec back playfully and Isabelle rolled her eyes, but then grinned back and sent him a wink. She then looked back up at the man, who froze and she then waggled her eyebrows.  _ Ah, they were going to have so much fun _ and she playfully rammed him into the wall. Though Cock Block arrived before the real fun could begin and she clicked with her tongue when she saw Jace hurrying down the stairs and Alec shook his head. “Oh, my, you’re in trouble Iz.”

“Why me?” she asked and crossed her arms on top of her chest. “He was the one who started, not me,” she said and pointed to the hunter up in the air and Jace quickly started shaking his head.

“Isabelle, Alec, what in the world is going on in here?” shrieked Jace. “Why is Raj dangling from the ceiling?” he demanded to know and Alec only shrugged and pointed to his sister.

“Ask her, I did nothing wrong this time,” said Alec quickly and if the situation wasn’t serious, Jace would have laughed because Alec was hilarious and Jace then looked at Isabelle, who was rolling her eyes. 

“Isabelle, what are you-”

“Character building,” she said happily and then snapped with her fingers, making Raj spin around and Jace snorted because that was kind of hilarious. He never liked the guy and he then puffed his cheeks - right, he needed to be professional, but Alec could see that Jace was enjoying the show. “Come on, Jace, can’t I have five more minutes with him?” asked Isabelle and then transformed her whip into a staff. 

“No,” said Jace.

“But-”

“Isabelle!” said Jace and in the end, Isabelle only pouted but then snapped her fingers and Raj was back down, completely unharmed. Only his ego was deeply wounded as the others started laughing and he quickly ran away, Isabelle happily grinning and then she looked at Jace.

“Happy now?” she whined and Jace only rolled his eyes, but in the end nodded. “So, anyway, why did you need to see Alec and I?” asked Isabelle because she had better things to do than to be hanging around the Institute, even though she quite like it there now. Alec was also wondering why Jace needed to see the so urgently. It was true that Jace wanted to do it over the phone but both of the Lightwoods didn’t use phones - they claimed that phones were evil and in their own way, they had a point. So, that was exactly why Jace called them up to the Institute for them to discuss matters, in the hope that they would agree to be a part of the Institute officially. He didn’t care if the Clave would be for or against his decision, not really. They had an angel on their side, so if they would try to do anything, Maryse would be there to back him up - and they would never go up against an angel. He knew that very well. For once, luck was on their side and Jace just pointed up to the stairs.

“Come to my office, will you?” asked Jace very politely and the Lightwoods looked at each other, but in the end they only nodded and followed Jace up the stairs to his office. Alec couldn’t help but to snort when he heard Jace’s  _ professional  _ tone of voice. It was really something and Alec really didn’t mean to be a dick, but Jace in his  _ Shadowhunter _ mode was quite hilarious. As soon as they arrived, Alec and Isabelle raised their eyebrows because they saw that Jace had already prepared drinks for them and Alec shook his head - ah, was Jace going to pitch an idea to them? It was kind of what this was all leading up to and Alec grumbled, but still took a sit when Jace pointed to two empty chairs. Isabelle had just as many questions as Alec and she just kept eyeing Jace and then at the drink. Well, she’d have some of that, it looked tasty, but-

“Okay, Jace, today if you will,” said Alec as he really wasn’t in the mood for Jace’s stalling. Jace usually stalled when he had some big news that he was kind of scared to share and Alec only rolled his eyes because he thought that it was going to be some bad news from the Clave. He wouldn’t be really surprised if they did more shit in the week that he had been away. After the whole Idris incident, Alec needed some time to properly recover and he made a decision - he was never going back there. He was strong and a demon, but that place just brought back too many painful memories and he had absolutely zero intentions of ever returning. Which was a shame because that was the place that he grew up in. Yet, he had no choice and he then huffed.

“Right,” said Jace and then clasped his hands together. “I-I suppose there’s no real reason for me to keep on stalling forever,” said Jace and then nodded. “Well, given the recent events,” said Jace and Alec raised a brow. So, he was calling all of that happened  _ recent events? _

“You mean us barging into Idris and saving your ass?” asked Isabelle and Jace clicked with his tongue.

“Yes,  _ that, _ ” said Jace as he was trying to be more objective of it all, but Isabelle didn’t really care for profanities. “Well, things have started changing in Idris,” said Jace and Alec nodded. That were some good news and he was getting a bit suspicious, hoping that Jace didn’t come with a  _ brilliant _ idea of how great it would be if he and Izzy would help them  _ rebuilt _ the system and the whole place. Alec narrowed his eyes, but allowed Jace to continue. “And, well, the two of you have been one of the many reasons that all of this is finally happening. And with defeating Lilith, closing the rift, well,” said Jace and Alec nodded, but still was pretty much confused. “And me, as the Head of the Institute,” he carried on and he could see that Isabelle was already  _ very _ bored. “I wanted to give you both a reward and ask if you-”

“A reward?” asked Alec and snorted. Isabelle was on the verge of laughing as well - they were demons, they didn’t need  _ awards.  _ He had called them there so that he could hand them out a participation award or what? “You really called us here to-”

“Wait, you didn’t let me finish,” grumbled Jace and then started rubbing his temples. Alec arched a brow and Jace then took in a deep breath. “Every mission that you have been a part of was a great success,” said Jace and then took in a deep breath. “I was just, um, wondering if you have any interests in… making this permanent? At least for a little while?” he asked and Isabelle looked at his brother.  _ What exactly was Jace offering them?  _ Jace cleared his throat and silence suddenly fell in between them. 

“You’re offering us a job?” asked Alec in disbelief.

“Well-”

“As in the two of us working for  _ you? _ ” asked Isabelle and tried not to laugh. Jace pressed his lips together and then rolled his eyes. Okay, fine, maybe he could have worded it better, but he didn’t really appreciate Isabelle laughing at him. Was he really asking  _ them _ , the demons who have been completely betrayed once by the Shadowhunters to work for them now? One was having a deal, but the other thing was… and did he really expect that the two of them would say yes? Isabelle wanted to laugh, but Alec was actually not saying much and she glanced at her brother, who was playing with the idea.

“And what would be in it for us?”

“Um,” said Jace. “You’d be paid, a great amount.”

“I can easily make money with my magic,” said Alec, completely disinterested into the money aspect of it all.

“Fame and glory?”

“Pass.”

“Alec, come on!” whined Jace and Alec crossed his arms.

“No, if you want to sell this idea to us, you have to be more convincing,” said Alec and shrugged. “I mean I have literally nothing better to do, so why not, but I want you to actually have a good reason for us to take the job,” said Alec and Isabelle’s jaw dropped -  _ he had to be kidding, right?!  _ Truth be told, Alec didn’t really know what he was thinking, he was more interested in hearing what Jace would have to say. Maybe he was playing more with Jace if he was being completely honest. Though maybe it would give Alec a sense of purpose as he had been wondering what he’d do now that he was  _ free.  _ But working for the hunters was…

‘’Um,’’ said Jace and then started looking around. ‘’It would give you the chance to fight demons?’’ proposed Jace and Alec only rolled his eyes - he could do that down in Edom if he wanted to. But, deep inside, maybe Alec was tempted after all. The missions were quite fun, he wasn’t going to lie, but his ego wouldn’t bend down to the hunters. There was absolutely  _ no _ way so in the end he just shook his head and Isabelle sighed in relief -  _ thank God.  _ For a moment, she thought that he was being actually serious!

‘’Nah, Jace,’’ said Alec and then folded his arms on top of his chest. ‘’Not really interested in the whole aspect of working  _ for you.  _ I mean the missions were fun and all because I got to kill things, but other than that - not interested,’’ said Alec and simply shrugged it off. ‘’And for the record, if Isabelle and I would by any chance accept your offer, it would be all of  _ you  _ working for us,’’ said Alec and then clicked with his tongue. Jace pressed his lips together and then rolled his eyes.  _ Fine, then Shadowhunters working for Lightwoods - he had no problem with that!  _

‘’Look, if that’s what it bothers you, then-’’

‘’Not interested,’’ said Alec again and then just portalled off to Magnus’. Isabelle stayed behind and then just chuckled and shook her head. Though she kind of felt bad for Jace as he looked genuinely sad about it. He really had high hopes for this, huh? Isabelle clicked with her tongue and then looked around the place - that would be her cue to be leaving as well and she then sighed. Thought this made her think -  _ what was she going to do now that she was actually free?  _ Isabelle had never really bothered with asking herself that and now she was… kind of lost. Her smile disappearing, she snapped her fingers and then disappeared as well.

Jace rolled his eyes and then sighed. ‘’Oh, well, it was worth giving it a try. Shouldn’t have gotten my hopes so high, though,’’ said Jace and then sadly looked at the number of papers he still had to go through. ‘’Back to work, I guess,’’ he said and whined.  _ Ugh.  _

* * *

‘’Magnus, what do you think my purpose should be?’’ suddenly asked Alec. It was a couple of days later since Jace proposed the idea of him and his sister working for the Institute and ever since then it wouldn’t stop bugging him. Yes, he was free and now he wanted to make something with his freedom. He never took it for granted, not even for a second, but still… he wanted something  _ more _ , yet he didn’t know what. And since he couldn’t answer it himself, he was beginning to wonder - was there even a purpose for him?!

‘’Hmm?’’ asked Magnus and glanced at Alexander, who was sitting on the counter. Magnus was cooking dinner for them when Alec suddenly dropped the heavy question. ‘’Alexander, what’s on your mind? A purpose, like a loving boyfriend?’’ he asked, winking a little bit as he thought that Alec was just playing around, but he wasn’t and Alec nodded, but then hummed again and Magnus cocked his head to the side. ‘’No?’’ he asked.

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec and smiled softly. ‘’I mean that is one of my purposes, my main purpose!’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled back at him, leaning closer to press a gentle kiss on top of Alexander’s lips. But the frown remained and Magnus arched a brow. Okay, so there was something more on Alec’s mind. ‘’But I mean,’’ he said and then sighed. ‘’You have your customers to look after - that is your purpose, no? To help people?’’ he asked and Magnus nodded. Yeah, that was correct. ‘’So, in a way you have something to  _ do, _ while I just… I don’t know. I want something  _ more _ ,’’ said Alec and then clasped his hands together. 

‘’Hmm, okay, I think I know what you mean,’’ said Magnus and then studied Alec’s face a bit closer. ‘’Just what brought all of this suddenly?’’

‘’Ah, Jace called Isabelle and me to the Institute and offered us a job or whatever,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ jaw dropped - Jace did what now?! ‘’I declined him, of course, because Alexander Gideon Lightwood doesn’t work for the Shadowhunters,  _ but _ it made me think,’’ said the demon and Magnus nodded. ‘’That I want something  _ more,  _ you know? So I want to find my purpose in life,’’ said Alec and then huffed. ‘’Never thought about that, you know?’’ asked Alec. ‘’It was always just training with father and studying…  _ then that happened _ and well,’’ he said. ‘’Didn’t have any other purpose than destroying the Clave back down in Edom,’’ he said and sighed. ‘’Being more  _ human _ is tough,’’ he said and made Magnus laugh.  _ Oh, yes, he could so relate to that.  _

‘’I think you have all the time in the world to figure that out,’’ said Magnus softly and reached for Alexander’s hand, who gladly took it and happily sighed when he looked into Magnus’ eyes. ‘’There’s no need to rush it,’’ he said, lacing their fingers together and Alec nodded. Again, Magnus was completely right. ‘’This is finally  _ your _ time when you can think what you want to do with your life,’’ he said and Alec then looked a little bit lost, but slowly he nodded and bit his lip.

‘’Yeah,’’ he said. ‘’I guess until I figure that out I’ll continue pursuing my main purpose then,’’ said Alec and Magnus wanted to ask him what that was, but then he remembered the  _ loving boyfriend _ part and he just flushed all the way up to his ears and looked down, but then nodded. Alec smiled proudly and placed a kiss on top of his cheek. ‘’Still flush so prettily, my warlock,’’ said Alec and wrapped one of his wings around Magnus. The warlock smiled because he loved that Alec was getting a little bit more comfortable with his wings - he didn’t appear to hate them as much anymore and that was such a huge relief for Magnus.  _ Maybe someday Alexander could finally see just how beautiful he truly was.  _

‘’Don’t get too cocky, demon,’’ said Magnus and then kissed Alec properly, leaning a bit up and Alec chuckled a little bit.

‘’I thought you love it when I get  _ cocky _ ,’’ said Alec and then hummed a little bit. Magnus rolled his eyes, but the grin on his lips remained there and it was a definite  _ yes _ to that. Magnus did love everything about Alexander after all and the demon waggled his eyebrows as he felt Magnus leaning in, puckering up. However, just as they were about to kiss, Alec snapped back and looked around. ‘’Magnus, your dinner is burning,’’ announced Alec and Magnus’ eyes snapped open as well, looking to the stove and let out a shriek.  _ Oh, no he got completely caught up in the moment that he didn’t even notice when the food started burning.  _

Alec was laughing quietly as he watched Magnus trying to save the food, but it was no use as it was already too late and in the end he just snapped his fingers, using his magic to turn the burnt food into something edible and he just sighed. Yep, it was for the best that he kept magic for  _ cooking _ . He could hear Alec snickering behind his back, but as soon as he turned around to face him, Alec got  _ very _ serious and Magnus narrowed his eyes. 

_ Magnus was too adorable.  _


	25. Chapter 25

Maryse was laughing as Isabelle was telling her a story about Robert - it was a fond and funny memory that she decided to share with their mother and the woman couldn’t stop laughing. It was apparent that she still loved the man and probably missed him a lot. Alec and Isabelle didn’t like to dwell on the past, but they also missed their father would a lot. Still, they couldn’t really turn back the time and Alec only huffed, but then laughed as well. That was how he liked remembering Robert - clumsy, but still trying his best and of course a man of great honour. Alec sighed and then clasped his hands together. He was just so happy to be spending time like this - with his mother and sister, chatting about things. Something that he always wished for and he was beaming, smiling all the way up to his ears. Yes, this was probably the happiest he had been in ages. Even the awful memories of his past started becoming less and less frequent. Even if they came, Alec was able to overcome them completely on his own and didn’t allow them to consume him like they had in the past.

Alec was healing and he was just smiling, staring at Maryse, who cocked her head a little bit and then arched a brow. “Alec, is something the matter?” asked the woman, but Alec only shook his head. No, nothing was wrong, it was perfect and he then just smiled and bit his lip. He glanced over at Isabelle, who was also questioning Alec’s sudden change of his mood and he just cleared his throat, but then managed to recover. There were still times that he would get emotional, but he was able to overcome it all on his own, again. He was getting more and more comfortable to  _ feel _ things. And not just the pain and heartbreak, but also happiness. He was learning again how it felt to be happy and that it was completely fine to  _ allow yourself to be happy.  _ That was something that Magnus was working hard to make Alexander realise that.

“Nothing’s wrong,” said Alec and then shook his head. “I’m just happy to be able to spend time with my sister and mom,” he said and Maryse’s heart melted and she couldn’t help herself from pinching Alec’s cheek. Alec flushed a little bit in embarrassment, but he did nothing to stop her. In fact, he quite liked it when she would treat him like a child, though he wouldn’t admit it. But it was to make up for his actual childhood and that was something that the woman noticed. As she did with Isabelle. 

“Right back at you,” said Maryse and then looked up into the sky. They were sitting on the building again - it seemed to be the place Maryse liked hanging out the most - and she just happily sighed. The sky was bright, the sun shining and she was just in awe. She wondered - how would her children feel if she was about to bring them to  _ her _ home up there? The place was quite stunning despite all that went on and… maybe Raziel would grant her a wish - which was to bring their children back to how they usually were. She didn’t mind them being fallen at all, but she could hear how heartbroken Alec was back in Idris when he confronted the Consul.  _ They took everything away from him and Maryse wanted to give it back.  _ She was sure that the angels would understand and it could be the least they could do for allowing  _ that _ to happen to her children.

“Mom?” asked Isabelle.

“How would you kids feel if we would all return back home?” asked Maryse softly and Isabelle perked up, as did Alec. He didn’t quite understand what she had in mind, but it made him wonder -  _ where was this home?  _ “Up to Heaven?” she asked and then smiled happily. “After having a little chat with  _ Raziel, _ ” said Maryse and cracked her knuckles - oh, she was still very much angry at him. He just stood by and watched her children be thrown to Hell! “I’m sure he would even restore all of your angelic powers,” said Maryse. “Then we could all live together, happily,” she said and Isabelle’s eyes widened as did Alec and he looked at his sister, who seemed completely in awe. 

“For real?” asked Isabelle and Maryse happily nodded. Isabelle didn’t even need to think about it twice, because  _ hell yes would she want that.  _ Well, to be by her mother’s side, so it didn’t really matter where, but having her angelic side restored sounded lovely. Though, she quite liked the demon side of her - she’d have to think about it. But to be together as a family was everything that she ever wanted and she just nodded. “And we’d be together for good?” asked Isabelle and Maryse cupped her face with her warm palms and nodded.

“Of course, my girl,” said Maryse and happily nodded. “You, me and your brother,” said the angel and Isabelle swallowed thickly. Maybe he got even a little bit emotional and she then looked down. Truth be told, he didn’t have much purpose there on Earth left. Yes, she had friends and all, but she just needed some  _ more _ and she didn’t see that happening on Earth anymore. Lilith was defeated, the changes with the Clave were happening - it seemed that there was no place for her there anymore. She was kind of  _ dating _ Simon, but… she needed something permanent and she puffed her cheeks. Maybe she was being a little bit selfish, but she hadn’t done anything for herself in centuries if she was being honest and this would maybe help. She wasn’t sure, but maybe up there in Heaven she could get something more.  _ The real purpose?  _ She didn’t know, but she was prepared to give it a try.

Alec, on the other hand, didn’t exactly know what to think about the whole thing. While going to Heaven was indeed exciting, his  _ true _ heaven was with Magnus - no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t picture just leaving Magnus behind. How could he? “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” voiced out her opinion Izzy and then looked at her brother. “Don’t you think?” she then asked and Alec only shrugged. He smiled, but then his smile was wiped away. He also didn’t want to upset his mother because he knew that he and Isabelle were the world to her. And she just wanted the best for them. Alec cleared his throat.

“I don’t know,” said Alec and Isabelle’s smile widened a little bit.

“Weren’t you the one who told me that you kind of feel useless down here now that the threat of Lilith had been completely erased?” asked Isabelle and Alec nodded - yes, he did say that the last time. On a whim more than anything because even if he was still  _ finding _ himself, he wouldn’t say that he felt completely useless. Being with Magnus was more than enough for now, though he did want to fit in more. “You told me that you feel like you don’t fit into the world anymore,” she said and then bit her lip. She felt exactly the same - she felt like their time on the Earth was already over and they could probably start over somewhere else. Alec bit his lip and then just shrugged again.

“I know and to some extent I still feel like that, but,” said Alec and then clasped his hands together in his lap and then looked at his mother, who was just smiling in a very understanding manner. Isabelle also knew his reason -  _ Magnus -  _ she knew exactly how much his brother was in love and that he would never just walk out on such love, but she also didn’t want to imagine her and Alec to be ever torn apart by  _ anything.  _ So far they had always been together and being apart from him scared her. 

“It’s the boy,” said Maryse happily and Alec nodded. That much was apparent to her - she could feel just how much her son was loved and just how much he loved the warlock. Yet, she didn’t appear to be upset at all - in fact, she was  _ happy _ for her son that he finally found someone that made him feel loved like that. She did experience that love  _ once _ and was forever cherishing those memories that she shared with Robert. With a happy smile, she just nodded when Alec looked down.

“Magnus makes me feel like I belong here,” muttered Alec and then made a little pause. “I’m sorry and I really don’t want to upset you, mom, but I can’t just  _ leave, _ ” said Alec softly and then shook his head. “I would love for all of us to be together, but,” he said and then looked at Isabelle, who was quiet -  _ was she angry with him?  _ Alec doubted because she was always there to be the understanding one and he just glanced over at Maryse. “Mom, I’m sorry. Please don’t be upset?” asked Alec. It was funny how he always transformed into a little boy when he was talking to his mother - never wanting to do anything that would either upset or disappoint her. Yet, he could never do something like that as Maryse quickly shook her head - he had nothing to apologise for.

“Alec, you could never disappoint me,” said Maryse happily and wrapped a wing around her precious son and Alec happily sighed, feeling relieved. “I understand and I’m happy that you’ve found that boy,” said the angel and Alec flushed a little bit. “You do really love him and the amount of love I feel from him to you it’s outstanding. And I’m so happy you’ve found this kind of happiness in your life, my boy,” she said and Alec only nodded and looked down, but he was happy and he then sighed happily. Yet, even though  _ Alec _ was happy, Izzy’s smile was gone as she-

“So from what I gather you would be staying here?” asked Izzy and Alec nodded.

“Yeah,” said Alec softly and shook his head. “I can’t just leave, Iz. You know how much I love Magnus. So, yes, I’m staying,” said Alec and shrugged. “Which doesn’t mean you have to stay behind as well. If you truly feel unhappy here as you claim,” said Alec and Isabelle’s heart  _ shattered _ right at that moment. Even Alec could hear it, but- “Maybe you should leave with mom and-”

“But you’re willing to leave  _ me _ behind?” asked Isabelle and then looked at her brother. Tears were well present in her eyes and even if completely nothing has been decided yet, it was just the sheer thought of Alec being able to let her go so easily that broke her heart and she looked away. Her eyes darkened as did her soul, nodding and she then looked up to the sky and puffed her cheeks. Alec felt terrible for making it sound like that -  _ it wouldn’t be easy on him, but he realised that he made it sound like that.  _ “No, it’s great to know,” said Isabelle angrily and stood up. Alec stood up as well and tried to go after her, but Isabelle snapped with her fingers and stopped Alec with her magic.

“Iz, you know that I didn’t mean it like that.” Isabelle knew that, of course she did, but in the heap of the moment none of that mattered. She was hot headed herself as well and before Alec could say anything else, his sister was gone and finally he was able to move, looking over to his mother, who sighed, but then gently rubbed her son’s back. “I really didn’t mean to make it sound like it would be easy for me as well and-”

“Alec, it’s okay,” said Maryse and then folded her arms together. “She knows that herself as well,” she said and then made a little pause. “She’s just a bit… hot headed, yes?” asked Maryse and Alec nodded. “Yeah, as I gather, you and Isabelle both got this side from me, so she’ll come around once she calms down. You’ll see,” said Maryse calmly and gave Alec a little wink.

“I hope so,” mumbled Alec and he then looked down. He felt terribly guilty.

* * *

Magnus was a bit worried that day because Alexander wasn’t around his loft for a very long time and he was beginning to worry a little bit, walking around his loft in circles. His last customer left for the day and he was sitting in his living room, shaking his head. He wished Alexander owned a cell phone. While it was true he could send a fire message, it was just faster and more efficient through the phone - more could be said over it and he just sighed. But Alec was too stubborn to get one, so Magnus had no other choice, but to wait. However, as another two hours passed by and Alexander was still nowhere being seen, he decided to send him a fire message after all. He kept it short:  _ where are you? I’m getting worried. _

And that seemed to be enough to get Alec’s attention because after another ten minutes passed by, Alec suddenly portalled into Magnus’ loft, into the middle of the living room and he just sighed. Magnus’ face brightened when he finally saw Alexander and he hurried over to him, greeting him with a kiss, but Alec didn’t kiss him back. He seemed really gloomy and Magnus quickly placed his hands on top of Alec’s shoulder, who finally snapped out of it and he just looked down into Magnus’ eyes and smiled. But the smile felt forced.

“Alexander, finally, I was starting to get worried,” said Magnus and then sighed a little bit, cocking his head to the side and he just slumped down a little bit. Alec wasn’t saying much as he was just sort of standing there and staring in front of himself, which made Magnus wonder just what in the world happened. He didn’t know where Alec was before, but it didn’t really matter as he didn’t need to keep track of every little thing that the demon did in his daily life. Still, Alec seemed off and he didn’t like seeing his angel upset. Were the memories back? Alec told him that they were slowly going away, but one could never be too sure and he quickly reached for Alexander’s hand. “Talk to me,” said Magnus, who didn’t even need to ask anymore if something was the matter. They were close enough now and Alec only looked down.

Alec didn’t think that a fight with his sister would leave such a big impact on him. And it wasn’t even a fight, it was just… a misunderstanding, maybe. Well, he and Isabelle needed to talk things out, but that was for the first time ever that he and Isabelle have gotten into a fight and Alec didn’t know how to handle it. Isabelle was a huge part of his life and he didn’t know how to handle the situation. Usually it was Isabelle, who was better with words. Alec pressed his lips together and he looked at Magnus again. “Izzy and I had a fight,” said Alec suddenly and Magnus’ eyes widened because he was quite surprised to hear that the Lightwoods had a fight. That was truly something that didn’t happen yet - at least not on his watch and he quickly reached up for Alexander’s face and gently cupped it.

“Aw, my poor Alexander,” said Magnus and leaned in, pressing in a kiss on top of Alec’s lips, who returned the kiss then, but went back to feeling sorry for himself and Magnus huffed. “Do you want to talk about it?” asked Magnus innocently and Alec shot him a very tense glare, his demon eyes out and Magnus flinched. But Alec quickly calmed down and in the end he even nodded. Magnus gave him a little nod and then gently wrapped his arms around his waist. “I’m sure that whatever happened it isn’t as bad as you think it is,” said Magnus and Alec scoffed -  _ he was pretty sure that it was even worse in this case.  _ “Some siblings fight all of the time, but you two have a beautiful relationship and can always work things out, right?”

Alec nodded, but then shook his head and Magnus sighed sadly, placing his hand behind Alexander’s neck and then waited for his boyfriend to calm down a little bit, giving him all of the time that he needed. “I guess you’re right,” said Alec and then bit his lip. “B-but it… it’s different. We’ve literally never had a fight,” said Alec and then looked away. “Just… I hurt Izzy a lot, but I also… ugh, I freaking hate feelings and emotions - they’re too complicated,” said Alec, who missed his old self. Not usually, but at the moment did because in the past it wasn’t that hard to turn off the feelings, but now he couldn’t. He lost that ability, being with Magnus made him  _ human _ , which he loved. Yet, it annoyed him at the moment.

“How bad was the fight, Alexander?” asked Magnus, getting a little bit serious then and Alec made a little pause and then puffed his cheeks.

“Well,” said Alec and looked down. “We were hanging out with mom and well,” said Alec. “I suppose Izzy mentioned to her quite a few times how she doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere here on Earth,” said Alec and Magnus nodded. Yes, he understood that feeling all too well - he felt like that when coming from Edom as well. He would be all over he place, trying to find himself. Running away from the real problem. “Mom mentioned that maybe all three of us could go to Heaven together, or whatever,” said Alec and as soon as he said that, Magnus tensed up -  _ wait, what?  _ “I mean it would be interesting to see it, but-”

“Oh, returning back to Heaven are you?” asked Magnus quickly and then looked away as well, feeling a little bit sick because that was not what he expected -  _ Alexander was leaving?  _ How soon? But he doubted he’d just leave him. Then again, this was  _ Heaven _ that they were talking about - Alec wouldn’t give up that for him, would he? That would give him the chance to live together with his kind and, maybe he could get his angelic powers back properly. But- Magnus’ breath was shaking and he then just cleared his throat. “So-so, when are you-” said Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head.

“Oh, I’m not going,” said Alec calmly and quickly. “And this is the reason why Isabelle got upset with me. She wants to go, but I don’t want to. She accused me of leaving her behind and I didn’t mean to sound… so selfish, but i just,” said Alec and Magnus was still trying to wrap his head around everything -  _ so, Alexander wasn’t going to be leaving?  _ He’d give up seeing Heaven and be happy there? Magnus cleared his throat and he then let out a surprised question.

“Why aren’t you going?”

“You’re joking, right?” asked Alec seriously and Magnus glanced away, because he really didn’t want Alec to go, but he also couldn’t ask of him to stay. It would be too selfish, he realised that. “I mean, you’re asking me why I don’t want to go to Heaven?” asked Alec, quite frankly feeling pissed off and he then crossed his arms on top of his chest. “What, do you want me to go?” asked Alec all of the sudden and Magnus looked up at him and quickly shook his head.

“Of course not,” said Magnus quickly.

“Then what the hell?” asked Alec, because he was still feeling offended. “You know there’s literally nothing that will keep me away from you. Like there is  _ no _ way that I’m leaving you no matter what,” said Alec and Magnus’ breath shook a little bit because even though he knew all of that, hearing Alexander say it just made him  _ emotional.  _ Alec was giving up heaven for him? “I mean even if they promise me I don’t know… turning me back to angel or whatever, there’s no way in hell I’m ever going to leave you,” said Alec seriously and Magnus’ jaw dropped. “I rather stay a demon and be by your side forever,” said Alec and Magnus choked up.

Magnus’ heart was beating much faster as he glanced up to Alexander and then just leaned up and pressed their lips into a rough and needy kiss.  _ Fuck, he loved Alexander so much that he didn’t even know what to do with himself.  _ If Alec would ever leave him, then Magnus would probably just- “You… you would give up heaven for me?” muttered Magnus softly and Alec narrowed his eyes -  _ wasn’t he listening to what he said just now?  _ “No one ever… I mean cared for me so much. L-like Heaven is a big deal and you’d just give up on all of it just for me?”

“Duh,” said Alec and Magnus pressed his lips together and tried swallowing back the tears that were coming up, but could you even blame him? He had never had someone that loved him the way Alexander did and he was… “I love you, warlock,” said Alec with a smile and Magnus only nodded, but still kissed Alexander again and then pulled back, looking around and then realised - Alexander was still in pain. The fight really wasn’t as easy as it first seemed out to be, but Magnus was sure that he and Isabelle would be able to make up. “Izzy hates me, I’m pretty sure.”

“Izzy doesn’t hate you, darling.”

“But she thinks that I’m leaving her behind. And I wanted to talk, but she just portalled off and I tried following her around the city, but everytime I came close, she just ran away,” said Alec and looked down. “So, yes, I’m pretty sure that she hates me,” said Alec, slipping again into his sad mood and Magnus shook his head.

“Alexander, Isabelle doesn’t hate you - she could never hate you,” said Magnus and then shook his head. “If she ended up saying some things it was probably because she was caught up in the moment. You know that she wants nothing more than to see you happy,” said Magnus and Alec nodded, but still… the way she just left off pained him and he sighed sadly. “She is your sister and she will come around. Besides, both of you are pretty hot headed, so you shouldn’t take it to heart too much.”

“Yeah,” said Alec. “I-I finally want to do what  _ I  _ want and I’m staying here for  _ me _ ,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly. Well, Alec was staying for Magnus too, but he was staying for himself as well. Himself and his happy ending, which was by Magnus’ side. He was pretty sure that Isabelle realised that. Maybe she felt guilty for reacting the way she did and that was why she kept running away from him. It really wasn’t like her to not want to talk things out, so that was probably what it was. She was embarrassed and he wasn’t wrong.

Isabelle was pretty horrified with how she reacted back then. Of course she was happy that Alec found Magnus - the two of them were meant to be and she wasn’t jealous of Magnus. She wasn’t… it was just… she knew that Alec wouldn’t be leaving her behind. She wasn’t even sure that she wanted to leave the Earth for Heaven, but she made a mistake. She shouldn’t have said the things that she idd and she… needed to make it up to Alec. Apologies weren’t really her forte since she became a demon, but she was working on it. She was really embarrassed and angry with herself to show her face to Alec. But as soon as she worked out her apology, she’d head over to Alec to properly apologise to him. 


	26. Chapter 26

Just like Magnus predicted, it didn’t take a long time before Alec and Isabelle made up - just the the after the fight took place, Isabelle came over to Magnus’ loft and the two siblings had a nice and long talk about it all. Alec was happy that Isabelle realised that he didn’t mean to sound like that - like he was leaving her behind because he would  _ never.  _ And that was also when she finally told Alexander what was truly bothering her. While it was true that it had been bothering her that she didn’t know what to do now that she was free, she also told Alec about Simon and their relationship. For someone who was brave out in the battle field and was a demon, Isabelle was really self-conscious when it came to love life. And that didn’t mean that she was shy, no, but when it came to real feelings, she was just… not used to people really loving her. Not loving her for who she truly was, but it was usually men just lusting over her for the way she looked and she didn’t want that with Simon.

While Simon was a sweetheart and Isabelle truly cared for him, maybe even  _ loved _ him, she didn’t know how he felt about her. He was everything that she wasn’t and in a way, Isabelle was sure that Simon deserved someone better. Someone that wasn’t as tainted as she was, but then again that was how Alec felt first about being with Magnus. So, maybe she shouldn’t be so hard on herself. But there also remained the question - could someone like Simon truly fall in love with someone like Isabelle. Just like Alec, she also couldn’t see the good in her. Instead, she focused on the bad things and that saddened Magnus when he heard it. As it saddened Alec, because he knew just how amazing his little sister was.

So, Isabelle was  _ scared _ \- scared of Simon not sharing the same feelings. She was trying to keep their thing casual but before she knew it, she started developing real feelings for the vampire and was now starting to avoid him. Alec still wasn’t too keen on the vampire because he didn’t know what his deal was with his sister, but he was meaning on finding out. That day he visited the Hunter’s Moon on purpose because he knew that Simon was there - he heard it from Underhill, who was now hanging out there with his boyfriend Marcel on the regular, so that was there Alec had heading, under the pretence that he was going to be having a double date with Magnus and Underhill and his boyfriend. In reality, he was there only for Simon and it was kind of hilarious how much he kept staring at the poor vampire. Magnus was silently laughing because the demon was hilarious and he bumped into his with his elbow.

“Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec finally snapped out of it and looked his direction, arching a brow and Magnus then shook his head with a giggle. “You’re staring too much at poor Simon over there. Can’t you see you’re making him uncomfortable?” asked Magnus and then grinned again because that thought didn’t even seem to cross the demon’s mind, but then again  _ good.  _ It was good that Simon was wary of him and he then rubbed his palms together, liking the power he had over him. 

“Good,” said Alec and then Magnus snorted. As much as he loved his demon, he wished that sometimes he would turn it down a notch. He still liked to pretend that he was this big and bad demon, but all of them knew it by then that he was a soft-hearted person. Though Magnus was the only one who was able to say it loud. If anyone called Alec nice, he would jump down their throat and just try to show them just how badass he was. “He should know that I’m not playing games here. If he’s not serious about my sister, I’m gonna crush him,” he then said and glared at Simon again, exposing his demon eyes once again and Marcel started giggling on the opposite side of the table, but quickly got serious when Alec gave him an offended look. “Oh, you think this is funny?”

“Nope, I think it’s hilarious,” said Underhill instead of Marcel as he was holding back his laughter and tried not to insult Alec. The demon grumbled under his breath, but then didn’t say anything else as he started drinking his drink. “Dude, chill a little bit. We’re all supposed to be having a double date and  _ not _ a stake out on poor Simon over there,” said Underhill as he felt bad for his friend. Alec was only sighing, but in the end he decided to chill down a little bit while still keeping a careful eye on Simon. He wasn’t letting him off the hook so easily.

“There much better,” said Magnus. “Now, darling, just sit back and relax, okay?” asked Magnus and then took Alec’s hand into his own. Alec smiled softly and nodded, gazing back at Underhill, who was now looking at Marcel happily. Well, they sure looked happy and it made Alec wonder - was Underhill officially out now? Because before even if he was together with Marcel, he wasn’t so open with the public display of affection and he hummed. Then again, things were changing so maybe he wasn’t scared anymore. At least Alec hoped that he wasn’t.

“You seem happy,” commented Alec and Underhill looked at him.

“Well, that’s because I am,” said Underhill and linked his fingers together with Marcel, who was just happily beaming as he was looking at his wonderful boyfriend. “We haven’t seen each other in a while and quite a few things went down,” said Underhill and Alec arched a brow. “First - I finally got tired of hiding our relationship and I finally went public with it,” said Underhill and shook his head. “There’s still some dumbasses back at the Institute, but people have mostly been supportive about us,” said Underhill and Alec gave him a little smile. That made him happy and it made him realise that even if the Clave was corrupt that people were slowly changing after all. 

“I’m happy for you guys,” said Magnus happily and looked at Marcel, who was literally beaming with happiness as he was looking up at the curly blonde. “You two make such an adorable couple, don’t they, Alexander?” asked Magnus and Alec’s eyes darkened -  _ who was he calling an adorable couple?  _ Then what about them?!

“I guess,” said Alec and Underhill scowled at him. “Look, it’s nothing personal, but it’s quite obvious that Magnus and I are superior,” said Alec and then wrapped his arms around his warlock again and pulled him closer. Magnus shook his head because this was embarrassing, but at the same time kind of endearing as well. The way Alec like to boast about their relationship and how he’d show off Magnus to other people. Alec narrowed his eyes when the other two started laughing at him, but they could laugh all they wanted - he was still right and Magnus and him were superior. It was just a fact that he wasn’t letting go off.

“Okay, whatever,” said Underhill and then took a sip of his beer. “By the way I heard that Jace offered you a job at the Institute,” said Theodore and Alec nodded, but then shrugged again as he still wasn't sure about it. A part of him was leaning to saying yes more and more though. He didn’t want to admit it, but he kind of missed working with Jace and the others. “Still not sure?” asked Underhill and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. “Not trying to push or anything, but we would really need you,” said Underhill. “Besides, we’ve made quite the team, haven’t we?” he asked and Alec smiled fondly at the memories.

“Yeah, I guess we did,” said Alec and then looked at Magnus, who chuckled. It was clear to him that Alec wanted to agree to Jace’s proposal, it was just his ego that was holding him back, which was a shame as Alec would be a great addition to the Institute’s team and he just smiled because he was pretty sure that eventually he was going to agree to Jace’s conditions. “I mean, I’m still thinking about it, but,” said Alec. “I don’t know how I feel about working for Shadowhunters.”

“Oh, come on you should know by now that you wouldn’t be working  _ for _ us,” said Underhill and then shook his head. “You’d be working  _ with _ us as equal,” said Underhill and Alec sighed under his breath because when he said it like that, it sounded a lot better and he promised to Underhill to think it over. Apparently everyone missed him and that… made the demon feel things. Feel things that he didn’t really know what to make out of them, but… it made him feel happy to know that he was actually missed by them and he then glanced at Simon again and then clicked with his tongue.

“I still think I should go and talk to Simon,” said Alec and Magnus rubbed his forehead.

“Daring, he’s having a nice drink by himself there and I don’t think it would be wise if you-”

“I’ll make it quick, I promise not to torture him!” whined Alec and continued whining until Magnus just told him to go as he got tired of all of the whining and Alec happily hopped over to the vampire. 

Simon was having a little time off by himself because he wanted to clear up his mind a little bit. Izzy was acting kind of distant and he felt kind of hopeless and didn’t know what to do with himself. So, he decided to have a couple of drinks by himself and try to forget about the things that worried him. And he was kind of making it work until he saw Alec stepping into the Hunter’s Moon as well that his bad mood was back because for some reason Alec wouldn’t stop glaring at him and it was starting to make Simon worry - did he do something wrong to Izzy? Because she was acting strange and if Alec would only suspect that he did something wrong - which he didn’t, or at least couldn’t remember - he would turn him into dust. Simon shuddered and ordered himself another drink. Yep, he was freaking out and if that wasn’t bad enough, Alec suddenly appeared next to him and he almost fell from the bar stool as Alec sat down next to him. 

The way Simon reacted was  _ suspicious _ indeed and Alec narrowed his eyes - so, the vampire did something wrong?! Oh, he wasn’t going to let- “Vampire!” said Alec and Simon looked at him. “Why the long face?” he suddenly asked, trying to be  _ nice _ as he made a promise to his boyfriend not to torture Simon. “Did you have a fight with Izzy?” asked Alec quickly and Simon started choking on his drink. Oh, that was the end for him. Alec was going to burn him soon and he already regretted all of his life decisions, trying to remember quickly if he did anything that would offend Alec’s sister but nothing came to his mind and he groaned.

“No, I didn’t-”

“Why are you acting so weird, Simon?” asked Alec and then brought his face closer to Simon. “You’re being really defensive about it, it’s just a simple questions. And why is your hand shaking like this?” he asked and pointed to the glass in Simon’s hand. The vampire gulped and he just quickly placed the glass down and then his his hands under the counter. “You’re hiding something away from me,” said Alec and then brought his face closer to Simon. “And I am intending on finding out what you did to Izzy!”

“ _ Nothing! _ ”

“Now I know you’re lying to me, vampire,” said Alec and then narrowed his eyes. Simon flinched as soon as Alec said that and the demon rolled his eyes. He just wanted a talk, but Simon was making it impossible. Why was he being so jumpy? Well, maybe he did come off too strong and then he took in a deep breath and tried to talk in a more of a civil manner. “You’re acting suspicious, that is all that I’m saying and Isabelle has been acting a bit strange through the last few days. So I just wondered if you two had a fight. Or something.”

“There was no fight,” said Simon quickly and wanted to back away. Well, if he wanted he could run away with his vampire speed. Then again, Alec scared him too much to even move so at the moment all of his vampire abilities were frozen and he tried to speak coherently. “I would never fight with Isabelle mainly because you would probably burn me or something,” mumbled Simon and Alec nodded - yes, that was correct. It was good that Simon knew how much he was protective of Izzy. “And secondly, I care too much about her to ever hurt her. It’s her that’s been acting weird around me ever since-since I told her how I really feel about her,” said Simon and Alec’s anger deflated just a little bit.  _ So, what did he say to her then?  _

“What exactly did you tell her?” asked Alec and Simon pressed his lips together and then looked at Magnus and the others. Magnus was shaking his head, Marcel was cracking up and Underhill was just trying to somehow step in and drag Alec away, but didn’t know how to approach the situation. Simon glanced back at Alec and then huffed - would the demon cut his throat if he told him that he told Isabelle he loved her? Well, probably not because  _ love _ was a good thing. 

“I told her that I loved her.”

“Oh my God, how freaking dare…  _ wait, what did you tell her? _ ” asked Alec because that wasn’t what he expected to come out of Simon’s mouth and Alec then blinked a few times. So, why was his sister acting so weird then? Because of the love confession?! “You told my sister you loved her?” asked Alec and Simon nodded, trying to come up with an escape plan because Alec’s silence didn’t mean anything good. Probably. Simon wasn’t sure and he was pretty confused by everything. Still. “Maybe you sounded like a creep?”

“No, I just told her like a normal person, you know,” said Simon and then narrowed his eyes.

“Did you propose to her by accident?”

“Propo… what the fuck, man? I know you don’t really like me, but please think a bit higher of me,” said Simon all of the sudden. Alec rolled his eyes, but then apologised.

“Sorry,” said Alec and then shook his head. “I’m just trying to make a sense out of it all - why would Izzy be acting so strange then?” asked Alec and then shook his head. “And you meant it?” asked Alec, Simon quickly nodding. He meant every single word he said. He and Isabelle weren’t together for a long time - to be honest he didn’t even know if she was serious about him or not - but he had truly fallen in love with her and he couldn’t help himself but to blurt it out the other day. Maybe Isabelle was just taken back from the sudden confession? Or maybe she was freaked out because she didn’t feel the same thing? Whatever the reason was, Simon just wanted to know so that he could move on if Isabelle didn’t feel the same way. 

“Perhaps I’ve scared her away,” said Simon. “I did sort of blurt it out all of the sudden and caught her off guard,” said Simon and Alec cocked his head to the side. “Maybe she doesn’t even feel the same way about me, I don’t know,” said Simon and then shrugged. “I wish she would just tell me, I know? It’s easier to be turned down properly than to be hanging by the thread and getting my hopes up,” said Simon and then looked down. It hurt and Alec pressed his lips together.  _ Oh, great, now he was going to give him a pep talk as well.  _

“Izzy likes you, I’m pretty sure she feels the same way,” said Alec and Simon looked at her. “You know she is quite difficult to open up and I think you’re one of the only ones that she’s starting to open up to properly. It’s just… she’s guarded and I don’t know… I’m also like her and I suck with words,” said Alec and Simon nodded because  _ yeah,  _ that much was very clear to him. “How about you join us?” asked Alec and Simon glanced at the trio and he looked back at Alec.

“For real?”

“Yeah, you look pretty pitiful sitting here all by yourself, so maybe if you’d join us, you’d feel better?” asked Alec and Simon was really impressed - oh, Alec did change quite a lot ever since they first met and in the end, Simon only nodded and decided to join the others back at the table. Magnus was also impressed when he found out that not only did his boyfriend give Simon a pep talk, but also invited him to their table.  _ What a character development that was! _

* * *

“And when exactly did you plan on telling me that the vampire told you he loves you?” asked Alec as he didn’t waste any time as he popped up next to his sister after he finally found her and she jumped a little bit because she wasn’t expecting Alec to show up all of the sudden. She glanced at him and then just looked away - she did not want to talk about it. Not really because a part of her was sure that Simon was telling her the truth because how could someone as pure as Simon love someone like her - a demon? 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Isabelle stubbornly and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Well too bad because we’re talking about this whether you like it or not,” said Alec and then crossed his arms on top of his chest as he kept looking at his sister, who was just stubbornly looking away and wasn’t saying much. “Okay, I’ll start then,” said Alec and then clicked with his tongue. “Why are you ignoring Simon?” asked Alec and then arched a brow. “You don’t like him? I thought you two had a special  _ connection -  _ you told me so yourself,” said Alec as he was trying to understand it. “So I’m pretty sure he’s special to you, I mean-”

“Look, Alec,” said Isabelle and shook her head. “It’s complicated, okay?” asked Isabelle and Alec then waited for her to explain it to him because as far as it concerned him it was really pretty simple. “Of course I like Simon, but I… I just don’t know.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No tell me,” said Alec. “You’re always there for me when I need you. When I wasn’t sure how things between Magnus and I would work out, you were always there to support me and offer comfort, so please allow me to do the same for you now, Iz,” said Alec. “Please allow me to be your big brother, huh?” he asked because it kind of killed him that Isabelle didn’t want to share her worries with him and they’ve shared literally everything with each other. “Is this why you suddenly wish to leave the Earth so much all of the sudden?”

“I… yes,” said Isabelle and then chewed on her lip. “I’m just… scared, Alec,” said Isabelle and then held in her breath. Scared of falling in love? Alec gave her a sympathetic look and then nodded - oh, God he knew that feeling all too well. “I-I mean what if he doesn’t really  _ love _ me? You know? What if he’s just fascinated by me because I’m a demon or… I don’t know,” said Isabelle. “I mean how could someone love  _ me _ Alec?” asked Isabelle and sounded so broken, her voice little and Alec could hear his heart breaking.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I mean it,” said Isabelle and her eyes welled up with tears. “W-what… I don’t want to allow myself to fall in love a-and then be broken, like you were,” said Isabelle and then puffed her cheeks. “I mean Simon is so pure and… innocent, in a way,” said Isabelle and shook her head. “Nothing like me. I’m a demon and I’m… not… what if I’m not what he truly wants? If he later on finds out that he doesn’t really-”

“Okay, first of all, Iz,” said Alec and placed his hands on top of his sister’s shoulders. “You’re amazing. How could someone  _ not _ love you, Iz? You’re selfless and amazing. A total badass to go with it all and… you’re such a kind person. Simon would be lucky to have you,” said Alec and then took in a deep breath. “And for the record - cut Simon some slack. I mean you know how much I ‘like’ him, but he is in no way Christian, come on,” said Alec. “And I’ve spoken to him, he’s crushed you know?” asked Alec and Izzy looked at him, concerned. “Yeah, he’s heartbroken,” said Alec and Isabelle chewed on her lip.

“H-he was?” stammered Isabelle and Alec nodded. Suddenly she felt guilty and closed her eyes - she needed to make up to him. Lately all she did was hurt people around her and she shuddered. She needed to make this right and she stood up, looking down at her brother, who was now smiling because he knew where she was headed off to - Simon, wasn’t it? She found in Simon what Alec found in Magnus, the older demon could feel it. “I, um… thank you, Alec,” said Izzy with a smile.

“No need to… go get him, my lioness,” said Alec and winked, Izzy rolling her eyes, but in the end she cracked a smile and then portalled over to Simon. Alec smiled and then nodded, portalling himself back to his sacred haven - Magnus’ loft and he was happy because he was pretty sure that Simon and Isabelle would make things work between them.

And as for Alec? He was quite happy where he was so far.He was happily in love with the person that accepted him for who he truly was - even as a demon, Alec didn’t hate himself as much anymore and was slowly starting to accept it. There was a chance for him to be restored back to his angelic self, but he wasn’t so sure he’d take the Heaven up on that offer as tempting as it sounded, he liked himself as he was. But,  _ maybe _ he’d take Jace up on that offer after all - the talk with Underhill really hoped and after a talk with Magnus, he finally made up his mind - he was going to start working  _ with _ Shadowhunters. He’d finally find his purpose then. 


	27. Chapter 27

**Six months later**

“Ah, finally, you’re back in my arms,” sighed Magnus happily as Alec portalled back home. It was a long day for the demon and he was really glad to be back home with Magnus -  _ it was where he belonged _ and he just walked right up to him and placed their lips together, kissing Magnus happily and for a long time. He wanted to forget all about his long day he spent at the Institute because even though he was now working with the Shadowhunter, he still didn’t like it too much. Yes, he quite liked the missions, but there were quite a lot of them that were just  _ stupid.  _ None of his friends, of course not - he even liked working with Jace now. His and Jace’s friendship was really interesting if one could call it like that. In Magnus’ opinion, the two of them were hilarious when it came to  _ talking _ , but they outshone everyone when it came to the battlefield. They made an amazing pair and Magnus hummed, arching his brow when he felt that Alec wasn’t pulling back. At all. “Long day?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Oh, you have no idea,” said Alec and shuddered a little bit. “I’m just happy that Izzy is there with me too or I would really punch someone because some of the Shadowhunters, Magnus, make me wanna quit it all,” said Alec and then shuddered. Magnus cracked a smile and then nodded - Shadowhunters really wouldn’t the brightest bulbs and it were quite heavy on the personality as well. But, well, at least they were working together now and Magnus was happily humming because  _ things were really changing.  _ Maryse Lightwood was not only very present in the reconstruction of the Clave, but she became the Consul instead of Jia. And the new Inquisitor - Aline Penhallow. With the two women in charge, the changes really were finally happening. But Alec still wouldn’t step inside of Idris ever again and all of them respected that. None of them really tried to force it and he just grinned when he looked into Magnus’ eyes.

“But I see you’re in much higher spirits,” said Magnus and wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck and the demon only brightly smiled and then nodded. Yeah, now that he was back home, he was feeling a lot better and he pressed their foreheads together, letting his eyes fall close for just a little bit and then he took in a deep breath -  _ ah, yes, this was truly what he loved the most.  _ He was happy that everything ended happily - Isabelle also decided to join the Institute, but only after Simon agreed to work with them officially. Maryse didn’t mind staying on Earth as she was fine with any place as long as it was with her kids. So, they stayed and Isabelle finally realised that it was the  _ right _ thing to stay and not run away like per usual. And she was finally doing better, Alec keeping a careful eye on Simon though. One wrong move and the vampire was going to feel the consequences! “Alexander?” asked Magnus when he saw that Alec was spacing out. “Memories?” he asked softly and snapped his fingers, blue magic sparking underneath as he tried to aid the demon, but Alec only shook his head.

“Nope, none memories at all. Well,” said Alec. “Only good ones,” said the demon and Magnus was relieved and then he nodded, pressing a kiss upon Alexander’s forehead and then he reached down to cup Alec’s hand and he smiled when he saw the ring. Alec never took it off after that evening. Magnus puffed his cheeks and then took in a deep breath -  _ he still couldn’t believe that he got so bold that he actually-  _ “How was your day?” asked Alec and Magnus shrugged. It was okay, he was mainly looking forward to the  _ party _ and he felt excitement growing because everyone was going to be there and he was just so-

“My day was okay,” said Magnus and then shrugged it off. “I mean not like I could focus on everything else than on that party,” he said and winked. Alec grinned as well and then glanced down.  _ Right, tomorrow afternoon they would be throwing a party and all of their friends would be coming over.  _ “I’ve got everything ready, I’ll set the Pandemonium all magically and it’ll be the party they will never forget,” said Magnus as he was so excited as he had been planning it for a month now and Alec grinned. He helped along because he liked parties and he then bit onto his lip. Though, the way Magnus was excited for it, was really adorable and he couldn’t top if off. 

“Of course the world will never forget this party,” said Alec and then winked. “It’s our  _ engagement  _ party after all,” said Alec and then waggled his eyebrows. Magnus felt his heart leaping up to his throat and he nodded. Yes, he still couldn’t believe that he was actually getting married in a couple of months. It was Magnus the one who proposed the Alexander and it took Alec a while to realise that Magnus was not kidding and was actually being serious. This was a first thing for the both of them - both were centuries old, yet they were never engaged and it was a strange feeling. But Alec liked it and he looked at Magnus’ ring as well and he bit his lip. Yep, it was definitely a good feeling. 

“You’ve got a point,” said Magnus and then turned around on his heels, walking away from Alec, who cocked his head to the side, but he followed him. “I’ve got the drinks,” said Magnus and nodded. “And all of the decorations ready, it’ll take a few hours to set it all up tomorrow,” said Magnus. “Pandemonium will be closed for others, it’ll be only for us. Then again - a lot of people are coming,” said Magnus and Alec grinned. Now that he looked at it, they really had a lot of friends. And made him even more excited  _ because the more the merrier.  _ Alec smiled softly as he watched Magnus rambling on and on about the party and he couldn’t even imagine how the wedding plans were going to be once they would finally tie the knot officially. Magnus was going to top all of the adorableness charts and Alec only shook his head.

“Yeah, everyone is going to be there,” said Alec.

“Your mom is coming too?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded with a snort - yes, he had told him a lot of the times that Maryse was indeed coming to the party as well. How could she ever miss it? Even if she was the Consul now, it didn’t matter. She was leaving her duties to be with her family and Magnus was nervous because he had never hosted a party for an angel  _ that was his fiance’s mother top it all of and he was kind of nervous.  _ “Oh, dear, oh, yes… I’ll need to go through my arrangements again because everything needs to be perfect,” said Magnus and Alec started laughing as he saw that Magnus was freaking out a little bit. Why was he so worried?

“Magnus, chill.”

“Easy for you to say,” said Magnus and shook his head. “I have to get the party ready to host an angel - it has to be acceptable for an actual angel,” said Magnus and then was walking around in circles and was making even Alec nervous with it all. “I should get more fine wines. And… and ugh, what is with that music selection,” said Magnus. “Your mother needs something more  _ sophisticated _ not some-”

“Okay, Magnus, you’re worrying way too much,” said Alec and stepped right up to his lover, placed his hands on top of his shoulders and then turned Magnus around, face-to-face and then he shook his head. Even when worried, Magnus was too adorable. Just how was that even possible?! Alec then took in a deep breath and smiled. “Okay, Magnus breathe, it’s all going to be okay,” said Alec and Magnus nodded, trying to breathe like Alec told him to. “It’s just a party - you’ve hosted parties before,” said Alec. “Our friends will be there, it’s nothing big. So what if my mom is coming? You’ve met her, you know she’s really humble and loves you so much,” said Alec and Magnus nodded again. “So, then stop worrying so much. Why worry when you can have a great time instead?” asked Alec and winked. Magnus then nodded because Alexander had a point - like per usual and he then finally calmed down a little bit. 

“Yeah, okay, you’re right,” said Magnus and then smiled. “It’s going to be our special day, God I still can’t believe we’re like getting married,” said Magnus and Alec chuckled and then nodded, leaning down to kiss Magnus again - _ Alec couldn’t believe it either, he was just too happy  _ and he then wrapped his wings around Magnus again. 

* * *

‘’Ah, look at you two -  _ my boys _ ,’’ said Maryse happily. Everyone was already at the party, the others mingling among each other and Magnus was beaming with joy _ and _ happiness when he was speaking to Maryse. Alec was watching them and was smiling as well - he was happy that Magnus and his mother got along so well and he bit his lip, looking among their other friends. He spotted Underhill and Marcel getting drinks and he smiled up to his ears -  _ ah, those two.  _ Underhill was still the Head of the Institute and it was fun working with him, he was happy with the vampire and was no longer hiding his relationship. He was out and proud and Alec smiled because he wasn’t the only one. By the dance floor, he saw Aline and Helen kissing, holding hands and dancing together. He smiled and then looked away -  _ things were really changing and it was an amazing feeling.  _

And as for Imogen and the other members of the Clave that had been opposed to the changes - they were silenced once and for all. They just didn’t stand a chance against the other side. Far too many Shadowhunters have realised just how corrupt the Clave’s ways have been and were all sided with Jace and his team. It was truly remarkable. So, now they were among the minority that didn’t even dare to speak against them. Some did, tried to carry out their own rebellion, but they didn’t get very far as Maryse and the others captured all of them and they were currently all in jail. Just like they were supposed to. Alec snapped back to the reality and he smiled as he listened to his mother and Magnus chatting up a little bit.

‘’This place really looks amazing, Magnus,’’ said Maryse as she was looking around. ‘’Truly, could have never guessed that this is a club… then again, I suppose I don’t really know what a club is as I’ve never been to one,’’ said Maryse and Magnus chuckled and then looked over to Alec, who was just smiling and humming along, but wasn’t saying much.

‘’Alexander, you should truly introduce your mother to the clubs,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped, shaking his head. As if that was needed - his mother clubbing! ‘’Oh, don’t be such a party pooper. Maryse, how about the two of us go out once and just have-’’

‘’Nope, Magnus,  _ no.  _ My mother does not need to know what clubs are,’’ said Alec and Magnus only rolled his eyes, but then winked to Maryse, who was laughing because Alec was being hilarious. ‘’Magnus,  _ no. _ ’’

‘’Magnus, yes,’’ said Magnus and then winked again. Alec rolled his eyes, but didn’t try and fight it. Magnus was too good at this game of persuasion and Alec decided to stop arguing. Magnus was too stubborn after all. ‘’No, but I’m so happy that you found the time and joined all of us here despite your busy schedule,’’ said Magnus and Maryse nodded. ‘’I mean, being an Inquisitor has to be quite a full time job.’’

‘’It is,’’ said Maryse and then only shrugged. ‘’But I wouldn’t miss this for the world,’’ she said and then happily looked over at her son, who was beaming with happiness and he reached for Magnus’ hand, lacing their fingers together and Magnus flinched a little bit, but then smiled. ‘’My boy is getting engaged,’’ said Maryse and then cupped Alec’s face and sighed happily. ‘’I’m so happy that you two have met,’’ said Maryse and Magnus felt his cheeks reddening a little bit. He was glad that Alexander’s mother accepted of him so much and he just sighed. ‘’My boy is truly happy with you, Magnus.’’

‘’And I’m happy with him,’’ said Magnus quickly.

‘’Yeah,’’ she said and then glanced at Alec again. ‘’You’re truly remarkable man, Magnus,’’ said Maryse and Magnus cocked his head to the side a little bit -  _ how so? Did he do something special?  _ Then again, he was pretty special, but still… Maryse said that kind of out of the blue and he didn’t quite understand. ‘’That you decided to give my son a chance despite everything,’’ said Maryse and Magnus finally understood -  _ that he loved Alexander despite him being a demon now.  _ Ah, well, that was something that was never a deal breaker for the warlock. To him it was the soul that mattered and Alexander’s soul was one of the purest he had met in his life. Once broken, but was now healing and Magnus smiled. 

‘’Alexander’s not hard to fall in love with,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked at him. ‘’He’s… he’s an amazing man, Maryse,’’ said Magnus, who was really paying attention to what he was saying. ‘’I’m so lucky,’’ he said and then smiled softly. ‘’I never thought I’d be getting married one day, but here I am,’’ he said and then bit into his lip. ‘’Your son made me believe in true love once again,’’ carried Magnus on and Alec was having a meltdown right there next to him because Magnus was talking so many things about him and they were all  _ compliments.  _ Alec was still a bit… difficult when it came to receiving real compliments and he just did the only thing that he knew - kiss Magnus and thus showed that he felt the same. Hoped that the message came across and Magnus was only laughing because Alec was too lost for words. Maryse was all smiles as well - the two of them were adorable and so happy. It’s what they deserved. 

Magnus glanced over to his friends - Raphael, Ragnor and Catarina - who were sitting by the table and they all raises their glasses their way. Magnus grinned and then nodded their way - they were all so happy for Magnus. Truly, they were pretty surprised when they learned that Magnus was the one who proposed. He was always against marriage, not because he didn’t like it but because he was too jaded by everything. Or was it all just pretence? It was because Magnus didn’t want to admit in the past that he also wanted his happily ever after. Camille made him believe that it was stupid for him to want something like that - that he as an immortal shouldn’t get too attached to people, but he was happy to show her wrong. He just needed to meet the right person, which he did and now he was getting his happily ever after. Properly.

Magnus smiled and then finally snapped back to reality when he was being tugged by Alec to the dance floor - he wanted to join their friends there. Underhill was dragged off to the dance floor by Marcel and Jace didn’t look too happy when Clary was pointing to them. But, Isabelle and Simon were having a blast. Simon wasn’t much of a dancer, but he knew how to make Isabelle laugh and that was a plus. Alec then paid attention to Magnus again, who was glancing up at him and he just wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in closer. Magnus bit his lip and then placed his hands on top of Alec’s shoulders.

‘’Hmm,’’ said Alec.

‘’Yes?’’

‘’Nothing, just,’’ said Alec and then hummed. ‘’I still can’t believe… I mean it’s going to sound very cheesy and stupid, but,’’ said Alec and made a little pause. ‘’That I’m getting my happy ending,’’ said Alec and then rolled his eyes. Magnus’ eyes widened because that was exactly what he was thinking of before and Alec grumbled. ‘’See, I told you it sounds stupid and-’’

‘’Not at all,’’ said Magnus quickly. ‘’I was thinking the same thing just now,’’ he said and then grinned. They truly were meant to be - they even shared the same thoughts and Alec cocked his head to the side. ‘’Because - believe it or not - that was exactly what I was thinking just before,’’ said Magnus and then hummed happily, spinning them around and he chuckled when he felt Alec’s lips capturing his own and he just shook his head. ‘’I can’t believe I get to spend the eternity with you, my angel,’’ said Magnus and gently cupped Alec’s cheek. The demon smiled softly and then nodded.

‘’Same goes for me,’’ said Alec softly. ‘’I love you,’’ he added because it felt like the right time and Magnus kissed him again.

‘’I love you too,’’ he muttered back and then placed his head on top of Alec’s shoulder, closing his eyes and he smiled as they were slowly dancing together to the music. Just who would have thought that making a deal with a demon himself would bring him so much happiness? Making the deal was one of the smartest things he had done and he smiled after opening his eyes. And now… he was going to make this happiness last forever because… he caught the demon. For a lifetime. Alexander, the soft-hearted demon had won over his heart and he was beaming.

_ Truly was his happily ever after. _

_ It was Alexander’s as well. _

_ Two souls, who were as different as they could be, found their way together and helped each other to become one.  _ Stronger and invincible together.

**The end. **

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading  
Leave a comment if you liked it :)


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